Notorious  Silver Screen Fan Fic Challenge
by Tigereye77
Summary: When Prentiss is asked to go undercover, it forces Hotch to face his feelings for her and gives Seaver a chance to prove herself with the team.  My challenge parameters required me to make Seaver a main character, but definitely a H/P story here too.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my entry to the Silver Screen Fan Fic challenge. I had selected Emily Prentiss and the film "Notorious" as my character and film. My assigned second character was…Ashley Seaver. This was a challenge to me on many levels because I don't particularly like Seaver, but the bigger problem is that I never really got a grasp on _who_ Ashley Seaver was. She felt too much like a blank slate to me with what the show presented. So, that's my first word of warning: while Ashley is definitely a main character in this story along with Prentiss, likely my version of Ashley isn't going to match up with how you or anyone else may see her. Second caveat on this story: I selected Emily as my main character and was assigned Seaver. Under the rules, I had to use them as main characters but it didn't mean other characters couldn't be prominently featured and they are. As a Hotch/Prentiss shipper, expect HEAVY shippiness. I mean, story needs to be rated "M" in one part shippiness if you get my meaning (if you don't, think S-M-U-T). It'll only be in one chapter so you can skip that chapter if you want. Third caveat: If you like JJ, you might want to skip this story, that's all I'm saying except things will be explained in the end and resolved…to an extent. But really, JJ lovers, don't say I didn't warn you or say how OOC I'm writing JJ. You were warned! Fourth caveat: The framework of this story is similar to "Notorious", but it's not an exact replica. And if you haven't seen the movie, do so. It's pretty great and I totally can see Thomas Gibson in the Cary Grant role and Paget Brewster in Ingrid Bergman's. Fifth caveat: It seems I'm incapable of doing a one or two or even a three shot, but this story is not going to be an epic. I won't be able to meet the deadline if it was. It'll likely have no more than a dozen parts, if that many. And last, those waiting to read updates on my two other stories, "Reckoning" and "A Rose By Any Other Name", they're taking a slight back seat to this story since there's a hard and fast deadline, end of the month, for this to be one to be completed. But it is almost done so I should make that deadline and be back to posting in the other two. So I hope folks enjoy my trip into the fan fic challenge/smutty side of Criminal Minds. Feed back is appreciated.

**PROLOGUE**

Ashley Seaver stood watch and guard by the door, keeping an eye out while also listening to the hushed conversation between the man and the dying woman behind her. _How had everything gone so wrong?_ she asked herself as she bit her lip, willing herself not to cry right now. She needed to be as sharp and collected as possible if any of them hoped to get out of this alive.

If only they had acted faster, if she had spoken up sooner. But she was still unsure about herself and what her position on the team was, especially after her confrontation with JJ last month. The delay would likely cost Emily her life and for that, Ashley would never forgive herself.

"Hang on, Em," Hotch said quietly as he brushed back a strand of raven hair from her perspiration damped forehead, even as the other applied pressure to the bloody wound on her side. "I'm getting you out of here."

_How?_ Ashley wondered. It was just the two of them and an incapacitated Prentiss. Hotch would likely have to carry Emily, leaving only Ashley as the only one defending them. She couldn't shoot their way out of here, Mason had too many henchmen milling about. Sneak out? It was hard enough when she and Hotch sneaked in, now with a weakened Prentiss who couldn't negotiate some of the trickier spots, it would be impossible.

"No," Emily said weakly. "You and Ashley go while you can. Take the flash drive. It has all of the information on the terrorist cells." She tried to remove the cleverly concealed flash drive disguised as a locket from around her neck, but she was too weak and Hotch's hand stopped her.

"Hold onto it," he ordered her gently. "Keep it safe and you can give it to the Bureau yourself."

She smiled wanly at him. "I'm not sure if I can last that long," she whispered.

"Don't say that!" he said in a fierce and angry voice that didn't quite cover up the note of fear. "I'm getting you out of here and you'll be treated and you'll get better. Then we'll finish what we started."

"Aaron," she said softly, rapidly fading. "It was over before it begun. But know it did mean something to me, no matter how we left things." Her fingers traced his lips. "I think I've always been in love with you."

"This is my fault," he said in a broken voice. "I should have never allowed you to take this assignment."

"No choice," her voice was growing weaker. "But it finally brought us together. For that, I'm grateful."

Seaver glanced nervously back at the couple. Though she could only see Hotch's face in profile, she could still see that determined, hard look on his face and heard him declare in an angry voice:

"Don't you dare give up now, Emily. I'm getting us all out of here."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yeah, I know the prologue didn't give you much, so here's the story a bit more fleshed out and where I seem to be going with things. Reviews and feedback are welcomed!**

_One month earlier._

"You can't be serious," Aaron Hotchner stared at Erin Strauss, Bill Marsh head of Counter Terrorism and Deputy Director Fred Billingsley.

"I assure you, Agent Hotchner, I am deadly serious," Director Billingsley said in a dry tone.

"No," Hotch replied flatly, not caring if he was defying his superiors. "Absolutely not and I can't believe you're asking her to do this."

"Agent Hotchner, this isn't up for debate. She can naturally refuse the assignment, but she really is the only one who is qualified for it."

"And you want me to make the request," Hotch snapped out. "Me, asking that she do this."

"We thought it would be better coming from you as her immediate supervisor," Strauss replied calmly. "And I know she looks up to you personally."

He didn't even try to hide his anger and distaste in what he was being asked to do. None of the others seemed to take offense, in fact, gave him an understanding look, but the fact remained that they were ordering him to put this proposition before Prentiss, all the while knowing that if it came from him, she would be less likely to refuse.

This was going to be one of those days where Hotch really hated his job.

* * *

><p>"You want her to do what?" Rossi blinked at Hotch.<p>

"I don't want Prentiss to do anything, I'm merely putting before her an assignment the Director and Counter Terrorism has asked her help on," Hotch said irritably, unable to look directly at the brunette who had remained silent.

"I can't believe they're asking her to take this assignment," Reid piped up. He threw a concerned look at Emily.

"I'm not. After all, she's got the experience," JJ chimed in a slightly snide tone.

"JJ," Garcia said softly, distressed that the blonde's attitude towards Emily had gotten worse in the last few months since Prentiss' return.

Emily's reinstatement with the BAU and the Bureau had not gone smoothly. While Garcia, Rossi and Reid appeared to quickly overcome their feelings of betrayal, their relations with Prentiss still had their strained moments. Morgan and JJ clearly still had issues with JJ, surprisingly, being the most vocal and hostile. The blonde had resented being forced to keep Emily's secret and with the other woman's return had made it clear that she still held onto that resentment.

Hotch had been his usual professional, cool self, though there was also something off about his behavior. Seaver had noticed this. She thought her own feelings about Emily's return were irrelevant. As the newest member in the team she didn't feel the sting of being kept in the dark as the others had. She had also understood better than the others Emily's reasons for not saying anything about her past work with Interpol in the first place. Ashley Seaver could sympathize about keeping one's past a secret. She didn't like talking to anyone about her serial killer father. The whole top secret issue aside, Ashley couldn't fault the woman for not wanting to share something from her past.

And if anyone delved a little deeper into Seaver's motivations for being warm and friendly towards the older woman, they would find out that she felt sorry for Emily over how the others had been treating her. So Ashley had doubled her efforts to be as warm and friendly as possible to counteract the others.

However, where the BAU team leader was concerned, Ashley had noticed that his gaze seemed to linger a little more often on Emily. Aside from a few occasions, he had kept her constantly with him during cases. At first Ashley thought it was because he was trying to ease her back into things, let Prentiss get back up to speed and keep her separated from the two team members who still had obviously frosty relations with the brunette, but the more Ashley observed him, the more she believed something else was behind Hotch's actions.

Emily's desk was the only one of the team's that was in a direct line of sight from Hotch's office. Even while sitting at his own desk, he only need turn his head to the left and he would be able to see her. For everyone else, he would have to get up and stand at his window to see them. Unbeknownst to either of them, Ashley had been observing Hotch and Prentiss and she had caught him on more than one occasion staring at the brunette as she worked at her desk.

On cases, more than once, she had caught Prentiss giving Hotch a measured look when he had doled out the assignments and found herself paired with him once again. But it was the case in Tampa that convinced Seaver that something more was going on at least on Hotch's part.

They were approaching the UNSUB's home, ready to make an arrest. JJ, Reid and Morgan were covering the back. Rossi, Hotch, Prentiss and herself were taking the front. Simultaneously, they entered from both the front and back. Hotch had kicked in the front door and Emily had taken point, being the first one in and also the first target for the UNSUB. The bullet had caught her square in the chest, stopped by the vest, but it had flung her backwards into Rossi who was right behind her. The older profiler caught her and started to sink down to the floor with Prentiss in his arms, giving both Hotch and Ashley a clear shot at the UNSUB.

She was pretty sure it was Hotch's three well placed bullets fired in rapid succession that ended the man's life.

Their leader immediately dropped down to his knees and in a voice that sent a chill down Seaver's spine, called out her name.

"Emily!"

There was so much anguish, so much emotion in his voice that Ashley could only stare at him, as had Rossi, though the older man seemed less surprised. Hotch ignored them as he tore open Emily's windbreaker and saw the bullet had been stopped by her vest. Prentiss moaned then, a low, pained sound as Morgan, Reid and JJ came storming in from the back of the house. When they saw Prentiss lying on the floor, concern immediately filled their faces. Ashley was relieved to finally see some other emotion from Morgan and JJ, indicating hate and resentment were not the only feelings they had towards their brunette colleague. She had thought all warmer feelings for the other woman had been destroyed but it was clear these two still cared about Emily.

However, while this event seemed to help things with Morgan a little, JJ withdrew further and became even snippier with Emily. Ashley couldn't understand why. From what she had heard, the two women had been almost like sisters and JJ herself was involved in faking Emily's death. Any resentment she had for being asked to be a part of that should have faded by now if they were that close. No one on the team seemed to blame JJ for her actions and Ashley knew in the beginning Emily had made some attempts to reach out to JJ only to have been slapped down. Now, Prentiss mainly just stayed out of the other blonde's way.

Naively, Seaver had approached JJ once after a particularly nasty encounter where JJ just stopped herself from calling Emily a "whore" to her face. Ashley watched as the blood drained from the Prentiss' face before she spun on her heel and quickly left the conference room. Unable to stop herself, Seaver had confronted the other blonde.

"When are you going to cut Emily some slack and stop being such a bitch towards her?" Ashley found herself blurting out. She almost clapped her hand over her mouth, not believing she was speaking like that to a superior, especially the one that Ashley thought was Hotch's pet team member. However, Ashley really liked Emily and thought she was being treated in a grossly unfair manner so her spine stiffened, ready to take whatever JJ dished out at her.

"Excuse me?" JJ had drawled out in an icy tone. "This doesn't concern you, Agent Seaver."

To Ashley's ears, JJ's tone was smug and superior laced with disdain and it just got the younger agent's back up more.

"It's my concern because it's disrupting the dynamics of the team. _You're_ disrupting things."

"The only person who's screwed up the team dynamics is Prentiss. Not me. I'm just being honest here instead of trying to pretend everything is okay. But you wouldn't understand since you've only been here five minutes. Until you've actually earned your spot on this team, Seaver, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and just do as you're told, and right now, I'm telling you to go and check on those files the sheriff was supposed to get for us."

JJ had turned her back on Seaver in a clear dismissal. The younger woman's cheeks had flamed bright red, but she turned and stomped out of the room. A flash of dark hair going around the corner and a familiar end of a jacket made Ashley wondered if Emily had heard the conversation. She started to go after her and then stopped, wondering if she was just making things worse.

That was about two weeks ago and everyone had noticed the increased tension between the women on the team. JJ had grown colder towards Emily and the brunette seemed to have withdrawn further away from the team. They had left her alone, all except Seaver who was sticking closer to Prentiss than ever before. Ashley would have thought as team leader, Hotch would have stepped in by now, but he hadn't. Seaver couldn't understand why, especially if she was right and Hotch had deeper feelings for Emily than mere friendship. Why was he letting JJ treat someone he cared about so much like crap?

And now this assignment for Prentiss specifically was putting them all in an incredibly awkward position.

"So, let me get this straight," Rossi began in an irritated tone. "Counter Terrorism and the Director are asking Emily to go undercover to get close to Bernard Mason because they suspect he's financing home grown terrorist cells along the Eastern Seaboard. And they want Emily specifically not only because of her experience doing undercover work, but also because of her resemblance to Mason's late wife."

Hotch nodded and he picked up the remote to bring up a picture of Brigid Mason who died ten years ago. Mrs. Mason's hair and eye color were slightly lighter and the nose a different shape, but there was a striking resemblance between her and Emily Prentiss.

There was silence in the room as they stared at the picture and then at Emily. Each of them couldn't help but notice that she was a shade paler than her normal color and that she hadn't looked away from the photo. It took Hotch calling her name softly to get her attention.

"Emily?" he asked. "You don't have to do this. The choice is yours."

Her lips twisted into a facsimile of a smile. "Is it really?" There was a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

Hotch held her gaze for a moment before turning to look at the photo of Brigid Mason. It was clear the Bureau expected her to take the assignment, needed her to take it. He, though, had to fight every instinct that screamed at him to say, "screw it all", grab her by the hand and drag her away where she would be safe. But he couldn't, the assignment was too important. Intelligence knew that something was being planned soon, something big and catastrophic and Bernard Mason was the only lead they had. He wondered if this was how they presented her with the Doyle case and if she felt as boxed in then as she did now?

"What's the cover?" Emily nodded towards the picture.

"Mason is spending the summer in the Hamptons. You'll make his acquaintance there and…get him interested." Bile threatened to rise up in his throat when forced to talk about that last part. Hotch swallowed hard. "The entire team will be dispatched with you, but we'll need to make sure your contact with us is limited."

"Wait!" Rossi asked sharply. "You're sending Emily in alone? With no one watching her back?"

"I'm not sending her in alone," Hotch snapped back in irritation. He took a deep breath when everyone looked at him in surprise. They weren't used to seeing even a bit of his control slip. "That was Counter Terrorism's idea. I insisted that someone be sent in along with Prentiss. Depending on who she picks, we can think of an adequate cover." He turned to the brunette. "Who do you want to take in with you?"

She sent a look at Hotch. It would be easier if she went in solo but she could see that Hotch wasn't going to let that happened. Emily looked around the table and considered her options. No one really would work out right, none of them have had extensive undercover experience except Morgan and he would be completely wrong for the assignment, a man likely wouldn't approach her if Morgan was hanging around. Slowly she shook her head. "It'll be quicker if I do this alone-"

"No."

"Hotch-"

"I said no, Prentiss. End of discussion. Now pick someone or I go in with you." His voice left no room for argument.

She nearly snorted in derision and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. That would go over well. Her assignment was to attract a man and what could be more attractive than having the ultimate alpha male hanging around her all the time? She might as well take Morgan then. Yeah, Hotch would be a big help.

"It can't be any of the men," she finally said. "If one of you were hanging around me, it would likely put Mason off." She paused, having only two choices left. "Seaver."

This set off a small ripple of surprise, no one more surprised than Seaver herself. They all knew there was tension between Emily and JJ, but JJ was the one with more experience and both women would keep things professional out in the field. To pick Seaver was a bit of a slap in the face and JJ's narrowed eyes clearly indicated that she felt that way.

Hotch looked between Emily and JJ, but said nothing other than, "Fine, Seaver. Prentiss, sketch out what type of cover you think she should have. Let's go over the rest of the details."

The next several hours were spent going over the files and information they had on the mission. Bernard Mason came from an old New England family with a large fortune. Fortunately, the Prentiss family didn't run in the same circles and Emily's family had only been to the Hamptons twice when she was a small child so the chances of her being recognized were minimal.

The rest of the team would be headquartered in a bookstore which Emily or Ashley will use to provide any report or to seek the rest of the team out in an emergency. Reid and JJ will be working publicly in the store. Rossi and Morgan will be more behind the scenes, doing surveillance and monitoring. Hotch will pose as another wealthy Hamptons vacationer, attending many of the same parties as Mason and Emily would be at. The plan would be for him to try to strike up an acquaintance with Mason and be the secondary backup.

As for Seaver, Emily suggested she pose as her assistant or secretary. That would explain her presence, but it would also offer her a chance to slip away, ostensibly to do errands for her employer. She would be able to move about more freely and be the primary contact with the rest of the team, as Emily's absences would likely be noticed. Emily also suggested that a romance between Seaver and Reid be established in order to explain any frequent trips to the bookstore.

The meeting ended and everyone moved off to prepare for their assignments. Hotch stopped Emily with a hand on her shoulder and he waited until the last person was out of the room before he turned her towards him.

She wouldn't meet his eyes and instead stared at his red tie. Gently, he tipped her chin up so he could look into her face, allowing his fingers to linger on her soft skin.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I hated asking you to do this-"

She jerked her chin away from his fingertips in a quick and violent move and took a step back from him. "But you did," she spat out bitterly. She crossed her arms over her chest, clearly protecting herself from him. "I shouldn't be surprised."

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked, taking a step forward, only to watch Emily retreat again.

"Face it, maybe aside from Dave and Garcia, you've all been looking at me like some whore and you've just farmed me out like one, just like the CIA did. Like that's the only thing I'm good for." She let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "I guess I'm the FBI's prostitute now." She turned to leave but was spun back around by Hotch who grasped her arm in a tight vise. He pulled her close to him, their chests bumping against each other.

"Don't ever say that about yourself and don't dare ever accuse me of doing something like that!" he snarled, furious with her words.

"Why not?" she arched an eyebrow, suddenly cool in the face of his hot anger. She shrugged his hands off. "It's the truth. You can barely stand to look at me most times. You don't trust me to do my job, keeping an eye on me, second guessing me, keeping me under your constant supervision. You might not say anything directly to me, but you're more than happy to let JJ slap me down at every turn, letting her do you dirty work instead of having the courage to say something to my face."

"Is that what this is about? That I haven't intervened with you and JJ? I'm not a teacher and you two are not kids. I expected you both to work things out and not let it affect the team." Hotch's voice was cold and reproachful to cover up the guilt that ate away inside of him.

"I have tried to work things out with her!" Emily cried out in frustration. "But she's quite content to stay mad at me."

"Try harder," Hotch snapped back as he busied himself with gathering his things in an attempt to hide his own feelings of shame.

"I'm done trying, Hotch," she replied coldly. His head snapped up at her tone and saw that cool professional mask she knew how to call up at will on her face. His eyes narrowed at her. "I'm sick and tired of saying I'm sorry when I have nothing to be sorry for. I did my job. I accomplished my mission and I helped put a dangerous terrorist away and protected a little boy. I helped keep all of you and your families safe. So if anyone's feelings got hurt, that's too damn bad. I suspect you all would be more upset if one of you wound up dead. I'm finished."

Her last words seemed to have more meaning behind them than simply saying her need to apologize was over. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, as soon as this mission is over, I'm requesting a transfer out of the BAU. You guys get what you want, me gone. And I won't have to put up with your self-righteous, smug bullshit anymore." She spun around and stomped out of the room, leaving a speechless Hotch in her wake.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, I warned folks that JJ would not be nice in this story. Thank you for the kind comments about my Seaver portrayal. I don't know if it's OCC or not because they just didn't seem to have any idea who Seaver would be, at least IMO. As for Bernard Mason, I was thinking if I could cast the role, I would have Dennis Quaid play him. So just keep that in mind when you read the story that was who I was envisioning. Please read and review. Thanks!**

Bernard Mason was in his forties with light brown hair and dark blue eyes. He was a handsome man whose lightening quick grin was wide and infectious. He cut a dashing figure in his Armani suit, sans tie. More than one woman attempted to capture his eye and he had sent encouraging looks to a few, but he hadn't found anyone who had really captured his interest. He stopped off at the bar on the patio behind the mansion the party was being thrown at and ordered a scotch.

"Excuse me," a tall, dark haired man to his left said. He gestured towards the pile of napkins on Mason's other side.

"Oh, sure." Mason picked up several napkins and handed them to the man, noting his hand was wet.

"Thanks," the man said as he wiped his hand and the bottom of his jacket sleeve. "A woman got a little exuberant in her story telling. It never ceases to amaze me how some people can't talk without using their hands."

"Ahh, I bet I know who it was. Blonde woman in her fifties, wearing a green dress today with some odd shell decoration on the top part?"

The dark-haired man nodded and cocked a curious eyebrow at Mason.

"Mrs. Butterman," Mason explained. "We call her the "flailer" for obvious reasons. You get a drink in her and she's even worse." He held out his hand. "Bernard Mason."

"Aaron Hicks," the other man replied. Hotch kept his alias' name close to his own. He hadn't done any undercover work before and wasn't certain he wouldn't slip and respond to someone saying "Aaron". The other members of the team were doing the same. Aside from Morgan and Prentiss, none of them have had any deep undercover experience before and Hotch wanted to avoid any potential mistakes.

Mason tilted his head slightly to the side. "We typically see the same people at the Harris' parties each year. I don't believe I've seen you around."

"I haven't been back in the Hamptons in years. I've been overseas, mainly in London."

"Oh, doing what?"

"I'm an executive with Ballentine Industries."

"The tech research firm?" Mason asked.

Aaron nodded. "I'm head of development. What do you do?"

"BTM Enterprises is my gig," Mason replied. "Though really, it sort of runs itself. That's the good thing about surrounding yourself with very smart and talented people."

"Didn't you recently buy up that chemical plant in South Carolina?" Aaron asked as he signaled the bartender for a drink. He looked inquiringly at Mason's half empty glass, but the other man shook his head.

"I did, but I don't like talking business while I'm in the Hamptons," Mason deflected easily. "It's a time for me to relax and unwind." He winked at Hotch. "And enjoy the company of a beautiful woman."

"There are certainly a lot of them here," Hotch replied as he turned around to lean against the bar and observe the crowd around them.

Mason did the same. "Amen. I find some of the most beautiful, elegant women come here each sum-." His voice trailed off and Hotch could see he was staring across the room where a large staircase led from the main house to the patio on which they were currently standing. He turned to look and even he felt his breath catch.

Compared to some of the more exotically clothed women at the party, Emily's outfit looked relatively plain. However, on her, it was a masterpiece of elegance and sexiness. She wore a purple, fitted silk dress that molded her body and showed of the exquisite curves of her entirely womanly figure. Her dark hair fell softly around her shoulder in tousled curls. It was still daytime, so her make-up was light, giving her a fresh, natural look. The dress came down to her knees but the nude high heeled sandals elongated the parts of her legs showing, and seemed to make her long, willowy figure seem even longer. Unlike most of the women at the party who wore their expensive jewelry on prominent display, Emily had on only a single gold cuff bracelet and small amethyst stud earrings. Her beauty needed no other adornment.

Mason wasn't the only person's whose attention she had caught. A quick glance around told Hotch that several other men were looking hungrily at the beautiful brunette and several women were staring daggers at her. Hotch felt a surge of jealousy and possessiveness go through him as he watched the other men, Mason included, stare covetously at Emily. He ruthlessly shoved these feelings aside, knowing that the job they had to do would require all of his concentration.

He looked back up and saw Seaver trailing behind Emily. The dark-haired beauty had cut such an impressive figure that the blonde had faded somewhat into the background. Part of that was intentional as they had downplayed Seaver's prettiness, giving her an almost mousey look so as to not compete with Emily, but primarily so she would be able to move about more freely if people ignored her. In this society where looks had a disproportionate value placed on them, a plainer girl was likely to be overlooked. Bad for a young woman, but excellent for an undercover agent.

"Who is that beauty?" Mason breathed out as he continued to stare at Emily.

Hotch shrugged. "I haven't been here for years, remember? I don't know too many people. But she's a helluva beautiful woman." He didn't have to fake the sincerity or the appreciative tone in his voice when commenting on Emily's looks.

Mason turned his head sharply to look at Hotch. The profiler recognized the other man's reaction immediately. He saw Hotch as competition. Hotch realized that the internal nod of approval he gave to this reaction was half-hearted. He had anticipated Mason's response and knew that if another man showed interest in Prentiss, Mason would likely move more quickly towards her. That was good for their mission, but Hotch felt the all too familiar feeling of just wanting to grab Emily by the hand and haul her out of here away from all these men looking lustfully at her and fantasizing what they would do to that incredible body.

Mason excused himself and started to make his way over to Emily. Hotch simply nodded and watched him. Mason didn't immediately go towards the brunette, but stopped and observed her as she spoke to Ashley. Hotch frowned, wondering what he was waiting for.

"He's over by the bar with, Hotch," Seaver said in a low voice.

"I know," Emily murmured. "Just ignore him. We let the target come to us." She smiled at a waiter as he offered her a glass of champagne.

"What if he doesn't?" the young woman asked.

"He will, that's why they wanted me for this job."

Seaver stared at the other woman with a slightly amused look. "Cocky."

"No," Emily replied as she took a sip of champagne and then frowned at the taste. "I just know how he'll act."

As if on cue, Mason came up to them. "I would advise you not to drink that swill." At Emily's arched eyebrow, he elaborated. "The hosts here usually serve a rather mediocre champagne. The bar is definitely much better. May I get you a drink?" He stared intently at Prentiss and the two agents knew he was struck by the resemblance to his late wife.

Emily stared at him for a few seconds, making Ashley wonder what she was up to. This was the perfect opening, why was Prentiss hesitating?

She was silent so long that Seaver could see that even Mason was beginning to look concerned. Finally, Emily nodded. "Thank you," she said quietly in her pleasant, well-educated voice. "I'll have a martini."

Mason smiled brightly and escorted Emily over to the bar, Ashley trailing after them. Hotch was still standing there when they came up. As Mason ordered Emily's drink and another Scotch for himself, the BAU team leader decided to give Mason another nudge.

"Hello," Aaron said to the beautiful brunette, smiling widely at her. "I'm Aaron Hicks."

Emily gave Hotch a measured look and then said in a polite voice. "Emma Parker. This is my secretary, Amanda Stanton." She gestured to Ashley.

"And I'm Bernard Mason," the other man said, throwing an irritated look at Hotch. He turned to "Amanda" and smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were with Ms. Parker. Would you like something to drink?"

Ashley shook her head, murmuring a "thank you, but no". After that, both men appeared to promptly forget about her as they focused on "Emma".

"I was just saying to Aaron that I know or recognize most of the people who come to the Harris' parties, but I don't recognize you. And I know I could never forget a woman who looks like you," Mason said as he stared at Emily intently.

She looked blandly at him. She picked up the martini the bartender had set in front of her and took a small sip. "I haven't been to the Hamptons in years," she remarked quietly. "I remember some very happy times here when I was a child." A slightly sad look crept into her face and a wistful note was in her voice. Hotch looked at her and then glanced over at Mason who looked intrigued. The BAU supervisor was impressed. He didn't know what type of background Prentiss had decided upon for "Emma Parker", except for the bare outline, but whatever direction she was heading seemed to have intrigued Mason already, as well as himself. "Emma Parker" had a story behind her and the two men wanted to hear about it.

"You spent some of your childhood here? Me too, maybe we've crossed paths at some point," Mason said, his voice easy and conversational, encouraging her to keep talking.

Emily took in his expensive clothing and her lips twisted into a sardonic smile. "Somehow I doubt we ran in the same circles."

"Well, then that is definitely my loss and one I intend to remedy immediately. Why don't we sit over there and talk about summers past in the Hamptons." He smiled engagingly and reached out to touch Emily on her arm.

She flinched back from him, shying away like a nervous mare. Instinctively, Hotch began to move forward to put himself between the two, but Emily stepped back slightly and he felt the heel of her sandal touch the tip of his shoe. _It's okay_. He settled back, realizing she was merely playing the role and exhibiting fear or nervousness with Mason. However, he still watched them both closely ready to intercede the second Emily showed any signs of distress or if Mason exhibited any threatening behavior.

Fortunately, Mason had been too preoccupied with Emily's reaction to notice Hotch's, but forgotten Ashley had seen everything. Emily _had_ confided in her some of the background details she had created for Emma Parker. Emma would be well-to-do, but not rich, making a living as an interior designer, though her late husband had left her enough money to be comfortably well-off. However, Emma has had a falling out with family and friends that has left her alone, save for "Amanda". Emily had pointed out that Mason's profile indicated he was a gentleman who was gallant and considerate of women. By appearing isolated, it would appeal to Mason's protective instincts, plus create less pressure for Emily to come up with family ties when asked.

Emily had also said she would be hinting at some sexual abuse trauma as well. Ashley had looked sharply at her when she heard about that detail. While seeing Emma as a victim would likely trigger Mason's protectiveness, Seaver also was smart enough to realize that Emily could fall back on the sexual abuse as an excuse to avoid any physical intimacy with Mason.

Clever woman.

Emily took another small sip of her martini, making her hand shake just a little bit to show she was distressed by something. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "But I have to go."

"I'm sorry," Mason apologized. Reflexively, he started to reach out again but stopped himself as soon as her dark eyes looked anxiously at him. "I didn't mean to offend or-, or frighten you. I would just like to get to know you better." He truly did look sorry for upsetting her.

_Hook, line and sinker. Just like Emily planned,_ Seaver thought.

She smiled a little sadly at him and picked up her clutch which she had set down on the bar. "Perhaps some other time. Come on, Amanda, we should go pay our respects to our hosts."

"Wait! You haven't finished your drink," Mason said as she started to move away from them.

Emily turned back slightly to look at the drink, then at him. "No, I'm done with it." With that she swept off with Seaver trotting after her.

"Why didn't you stay longer?" the blonde asked the older agent in a low voice.

"You just leave them with enough to get them interested and come after you. You push too hard, it looks like you're deliberately trying to make contact," Emily murmured. "Don't worry, he'll seek me out."

"Intriguing woman," Mason muttered as his eyes followed Emily. "But she seems sad and…" his voice trailed off.

Hotch murmured a response. Mason wasn't the only one intrigued. The performance he had just witnessed had Hotch fascinated. Aside from the bare facts sketched out for Emily's alias, he didn't know how she would be approaching Mason or the personality she would present to him. After having seen a little of who Emily decided Emma Parker would be, given the profile on Mason, Hotch could see what little she had offered would draw the man in and make him anxious to learn more.

Emily Prentiss was just that good.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I have to say that I never really plan to write for Rossi. I don't dislike him, but my favorites are definitely Prentiss and Hotch. But dang if he doesn't seem to find a way to get a featured role in my stories. It just happens with him. He just creeps in and sometimes takes over a scene without me ever planning on that happening. And for those who asked, yep, "Notorious" the film is an Alfred Hitchcock film that starred Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. Ingrid is the daughter of a Nazi sympathizer who's recruited by Cary Grant's US Intelligence officer to get close and seduce Claude Raines, a Nazi sympathizer. The only problem is that Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman's characters fall in love with each other. See the parallels? ;-) Please read and review, thank you!**

"How did it go?" Rossi asked as Hotch stepped into the back room of the bookstore the BAU team was using as their headquarters.

"Contact has been made and she's definitely got him intrigued," Hotch replied as he sat down. A small smile crept up on his face. "Pretty damn impressive performance even though it was a five minute encounter."

"She got him hooked in five minutes?" Rossi raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't see how she looked."

Something in Hotch's voice caused Rossi to look closely at him. However, he let it slide and continued to update Hotch on their own activities.

"Morgan is finishing up with the bugs at Emily and Ashley's house," he continued. As if on cue, his phone rang. "Rossi. Yep, okay, I'll switch it on now." He leaned over to flick on the surveillance equipment connected to the listening devices they had at the house the women would be living. Not only would the bugs record any conversations Emily might have with Mason, they would serve as an extra safety precaution. The bookstore they were headquartered at was only five minutes away from the house. At the first sign of trouble, backup could be there for Prentiss and Seaver.

"You hear me okay, Rossi?" Morgan's voice came over the speakers.

"Loud and clear," Rossi replied into the cell phone. "Do a sound check on the rest of the rooms."

After he finished testing his handiwork, Morgan reported that he was on his way back to the shop. Rossi turned then to regard Hotch who had remained silent the entire time.

"So Mason is definitely interested?"

Hotch nodded. "Prentiss put on a fascinating performance. I hadn't realized how gifted of an actress she is." He smiled humorously. "Maybe I should know that by now."

"Oh, not you too," Rossi sighed. "You know, I hear enough crap from JJ about Emily. It's over, why can't people just move on?"

"Have you, Dave?" Hotch asked quietly. "Your relationship with her isn't exactly where it was before Doyle. I haven't seen you seek her out like you used to."

"I was hoping she would come to me, or one of us to, you know, talk about what happened." Dave sat down heavily and he looked every second of his fifty-six years, maybe even more. "It seems I handled the situation wrong unless she's spoken to you?" Rossi gazed hopefully at Hotch.

The other man shook his head and took a seat next to Rossi who sighed again. "It's just as important for her to let us know how she's feeling about all this too," Dave continued. "It's not just about us reacting to her. We failed her too."

It was Hotch's turn to sigh. "I know, but Prentiss isn't exactly the confiding type."

"She makes you look like a regular Chatty Cathy," Rossi replied. Hotch let out a snort that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "But let's face it; none of us have made it exactly easy for her to share confidences with."

"I thought if I just treated her normally but made myself there constantly, she would have said something by now," Hotch complained.

"And I thought if I didn't push, she'd come to me." Rossi shook his head. "That confirms it, we suck as profilers."

"At least where Emily is concerned," Hotch agreed. "She says she's leaving after this mission."

"What?" Rossi was startled. "When did she tell you this?"

"After the briefing on the assignment."

"And you've been sitting on this the entire time? Did she give a reason why? Did you try to convince her otherwise?"

"She's upset with how things have gone since she's been back, and with this assignment." He hesitated and from the look on Rossi's face, the older man knew he was keeping something back. "She said she felt like the FBI was using her like a prostitute. She thought _I_ was using her like a prostitute."

Rossi groaned as he closed his eyes. He shook his head. "I can't say that I blame her. It was the first thing that crossed my mind when you told us about the assignment. Not that _you_ were using her as a prostitute," he said as Hotch opened his mouth to protest. "But let's face it, it's what the Bureau is doing."

Hotch slumped down in his seat. "I hope to God she doesn't have to go that far."

"She might not a choice. She'll have to get Mason's trust to a certain extent if she's to find anything on those terrorist cells. He's not going to let her near or even know where that information might be if he doesn't trust her."

"Sex does not equate to trust."

"But it might be what she needs to do to gain his trust." He looked at Hotch's miserable face. He knew the other man had strong feelings, romantic feelings, for their brunette colleague and that this entire thing was wrecking havoc with his emotions. Rossi saw the lingering looks and the ones snuck at Emily when Hotch thought no one else was looking. It also hadn't escaped his attention that Emily had been paired up with someone other than Hotch only a handful of times since she's been back. Hotch was keeping her close, very close and while the rocky relations with certain members of the team definitely had something to do with it, Rossi suspected it was really more about needing her to be nearby where he could see her and reassure himself that Emily was indeed here.

"But if anyone can find another way, it's Emily."

His words were rewarded with a small nod, but the worried look never left Hotch's face.

"You know, while Morgan seems to still have his issues with Prentiss, he hasn't let it leach into the team in the way JJ has. She's really been raking Emily over the coals whenever she gets a chance. I'm sure you've noticed, so why haven't you intervened?" Rossi himself had thought about stepping in once or twice, but hesitated, feeling it was really more Hotch's role as team leader to settle the issue. JJ's actions at the very least had been unprofessional and it was definitely escalating, unnecessarily in Rossi's opinion, an already touchy situation. He still hadn't figured out what was behind the blonde's actions. There seemed to be something else behind her anger towards Prentiss beyond the hurt of not being trusted and the secrets Emily kept from them. But what that was, Rossi had no idea.

"I was hoping the two of them would actually work things out between themselves," Hotch admitted.

"So you wouldn't have to get in the middle of it. Coward."

Hotch didn't deny it. He shook his head ruefully. "I did let it go on too long. Do you get the sense there's something else behind JJ's actions?"

"Oh, I definitely get that sense. She's upset about something and I think she's taking it out on Emily. What it is though, I have no idea."

"I'll speak to JJ the first chance I get," Hotch promised. "It's been long enough and it definitely hasn't been fair to Emily. If there's something else bothering JJ, she needs to know we'll try to help her with it. Taking it out on Emily won't solve anything."

As if on cue, JJ came into the backroom followed by Morgan and Reid. They greeted the two men and Hotch asked JJ to call Garcia and link her up with the team so he could debrief everyone at once.

As soon as Garcia's face popped up on one of the laptop screens, Hotch began.

"Prentiss has made initial contact with Mason. As expected, he's shown a distinct interest in her."

"Well, Emily always did know how to get a guy panting after her. Especially the terrorists. One of her 'talents'," JJ mumbled.

Hotch threw her a hard look, but continued on with his debriefing. "Mason has her full name so it's anticipated that he'll seek her out."

"What angle is she playing?" Rossi asked.

"Aloof. Hard to get and not interested in Mason."

Morgan nodded. "Smart. Mason would consider her a challenge then. He'll want the hunt. If she seems too eager, he'll lose interest."

"It definitely was interesting watching her handle him," Hotch replied, a note of admiration in his voice. He made sure everyone knew their assignments and dismissed them all, but called back JJ to talk. Once alone with her, he got right to the point.

"JJ, I want you to lay off the comments about Prentiss."

She blinked at him. "Hotch, I don't know what you-"

"Yes you do," he interrupted, his voice growing harder. "Look we were all hurt and surprised by Prentiss' history, but that's all in the past and it doesn't change who the woman is, our friend. Now, I think something else is bothering you, something that doesn't have to do with Emily. Am I right?"

JJ stared at him but only shook her head.

Hotch sighed. "Okay, but if there is something else, know you can come to me or anyone on the team, Dave perhaps. Whatever it is, we'll help you get through it." He smiled wanly. "Hey, we just saw that secrets have a way of biting us all in the ass, so let's try not to go there anymore."

She only nodded again. "Is that all, sir?"

Hotch's eyes narrowed at the "sir", but he simply said, "That's it."

JJ nodded her head sharply and then spun around. She hurried out of the room before Hotch saw the anger fill her face.

She couldn't believe she got reprimand because of _Prentiss_! And by _Hotch_! He was always on _her_, JJ's, side! But it looks like Prentiss took ever _that_ from her. First this whole Doyle mess explodes on them and what happens? _Prentiss_ gets credit and a commendation for bringing him down. Since she's been back, Hotch has been fawning all over _her_. Emily Prentiss always came out on top and smelling like a rose while the rest of them get thrown onto the trash heap! Typical of her, always getting everything and paying for nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: To clear up any confusion, no, JJ isn't "after" Hotch. Maybe there's a tiny crush there, but no real romantic stuff. Though Hotch and Emily are a part of the reason why JJ is so angry, but they as individuals are not the main reason. I'll also hint that you can say the rest of the team is part of the reason JJ is being such a terror. Thank you to those who have provided reviews already. I do enjoy getting feedback. Please read and review.**

Ashley Seaver watched as Mason approached Emily. It had been two days since initial contact had been made. Emily had told Ashley that she had to play this just right, appear unavailable, but not too unavailable in order to make sure he was interested, but not suspicious. From the way Mason had pounced on the brunette as soon as she appeared at the party, it seems she had managed to find that balance.

She looked around and spotted Hotch watching the couple. She knew he thought he was being unobserved because he actually let some emotion show on his face. Ashley saw naked longing and jealousy in her usually stoic team leader which confirmed her suspicions from Tampa.

Aaron Hotchner was in love with Emily Prentiss.

Ashley guessed he may have realized his feelings when Emily was gone. If that timing was correct, then she thought he was being an idiot for not acting on his feelings by now. Didn't he realize that life was too short and you needed to grab any chance of happiness right away? Didn't Emily's "death" teach him anything?

But maybe he was afraid of rejection. Ashley had to admit that she wasn't sure how Emily felt towards Hotch. She had tried to ask Prentiss in a roundabout and artless way once. She had only gotten a blank look from the older woman before she shrugged and said.

"Favorite? Hotch doesn't play favorites except for JJ." The older woman's mouth had twisted into a facsimile of a smile. "But if you're looking for his 'unfavorite', well, I guess that would be me." At Ashley's startled look, Emily had elaborated. "We didn't get a great start with my introduction into the BAU, so I guess that's always hung over us like a dark cloud. Hotch doesn't particularly trust me, at least to the level of the others and lot, I think, has to do with the fact I was never a choice for him. I pretty much was forced onto the team and I think he's resented me ever since. We have an okay working relationship, but it'll never be what he has with the others."

When Ashley had protested, saying she believed Hotch trusted Emily as much, if not maybe more than some of the others, Prentiss had airily waved her hand as to dismiss the younger woman's arguments. The brunette cited specific examples, such as Hotch's constant need to ask if she's okay with an assignment he's given her if it entailed being paired with a LEO or an agent not known to him or going solo such as the time she was asked to bait Viper in Atlanta or be on the street alone in San Francisco.

Ashley wanted to point out that those examples could also mean he was overly protective and worried about her safety and weren't an indication of concern about her abilities. However, she had dropped the topic as Emily felt she had made her point and wanted to discuss something else. But the blonde continued to watch the couple closely until she was here now, watching Hotch, watch Emily.

Emily was completely unaware that she was a subject of such interest for two people. She was concentrating on Mason who had appeared before her a scant five minutes after she arrived at the party.

"We meet again, Ms. Parker," he said with his most charming smile.

Emily plastered on her face that polite smile politicians usually wore to not be rude, but also not encourage someone. "Oh, yes, Mr…Mason? Isn't it? We met at the Harris' the other day."

His smile widened and she saw him look over her face carefully. "I'm honored your remember me."

She gave him a small smile. "Please, I'm sure many people remember you."

"But the one that I wanted to did."

She lowered her eyes, feeling a slight pang of regret that she hadn't been able to master blushing on command. It would have added so much, but settled for a slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable look.

"I'm sorry," Mason apologized sincerely, seeing her discomfort. He laughed a self-deprecating laugh. "I'm sorry if you feel I'm being too aggressive. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. However, I do want to get to know you better."

"Why?" Emily asked bluntly.

"You have kind eyes," he said softly.

"Excuse me?" That was a new pick up line.

"I lost my wife ten years ago. I thought we'd be together until we were old and grey. Since then, I haven't really had a relationship, a real relationship that approached anything near what I had with Brigid, my wife. About five years ago, I realized why I wasn't finding that connection."

"And what was the reason?"

"I forgot to look for kindness in their eyes," Mason said quietly, looking directly into Emily's dark ones. "The kindness that was in Brigid's eyes, the kindness that I see in yours."

If she didn't know that she was a near doppleangler for his late wife, Emily would have almost believed him. He seemed so sincere and convincing. However, she knew Emma would feel some of the ice she had built around her melt so she allowed herself to thaw a little towards him.

"Well, thank you," she said softly as she took a sip of her champagne. She smiled into her glass and lifted it up to him. "It's better here."

Mason laughed lightly. "Yes, the Rosses are a little more generous with what they serve. Speaking of serving, they have this incredible buffet here. Let me show you where it is?" He looked inquiringly at her.

Emily hesitated a moment and then nodded her head shyly. Mason offered her his arm and after a moment's hesitation, she slipped one hand through it, lightly resting it on his bicep. He didn't pull her in close, allowing her to dictate what their physical contact would be, but simply started walking in the direction of the buffet, talking animatedly all the while.

Ashley watched them walk off and then started to follow at a discrete distance. The second contact had gone as Emily had planned. The blonde shot a look over at where Hotch had been standing and observing the couple. He too was watching them walk away. Ashley realized that while Prentiss had planned and anticipated how this second meeting would go, there was one thing that Emily hadn't foreseen: Aaron Hotchner looking jealously after them.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: My business trip to the other coast got canceled, but I'm going to be kept pretty busy here at home. However, it might mean I'll be able to continue to post daily parts, maybe, since I'm not traveling. Thank you to all the folks who have taken time out to review so far. I hope others are enjoying this story too and if you feel inclined to leave feedback, thank you ahead of time.**

Ten days later and things were progressing at a nice pace. Mason and "Emma" had had several dates where she had gradually warmed up to him and he had been eager to please her. The one thing he hadn't done yet was to invite her to his home which was where she needed to get into to start looking for information on the terrorist cells.

However, a new development rapidly pushed up their timetable.

Seaver had been doing a routine check-in at the bookstore, flirting with Reid as part of her cover when JJ came up to them.

"Go towards the back office," she said in a low voice. "An urgent message just came in." In a louder voice she said, "Go ahead and take your break now, Spence."

A minute later, the two blondes and Reid had slipped into the back office where Hotch, Rossi and Morgan were already standing gathered around the lap top where Garcia's less than bubbly face was being displayed.

"Okay Garcia," Hotch said as he glanced over his shoulder when the others came in. "We're all here except for Prentiss. Seaver will just have to relay whatever it is you need to tell us."

"Deputy Director Marsh from Counter Terrorism just informed me that the CIA has picked up some chatter from what they think is a possible cell Mason is connected with."

"What was it?" Reid asked.

Garcia took a deep breath and they could tell whatever it was, it wasn't good if she was staring at them with a pale face and worried eyes. "It was in code, but the analysts think they were discussing targets to hit. There are plans for a coordinated strike along the East Coast to take place in a month."

"What are the targets?" Hotch interjected.

"Public schools," Garcia's voice quivered.

* * *

><p>"Oh my God," Emily whispered as Seaver brought her up to date.<p>

"Hotch says we need to move more quickly. How are we going to do that?" Ashley looked anxiously at the older agent.

Emily sighed and shook her head. "I'll have to think about it. Somehow we need to get into that house." She looked around the small bungalow they shared, her eyes going to the kitchen. "Ashley, what is the hotel situation here? We're in the height of the season, aren't we?"

"Uh, yeah," Seaver replied, not understanding where Emily was going with this. "I don't know if there are any hotel rooms available, but I suspect it would be difficult to find one."

"Hmmm, too bad," Emily replied as she got up and started to move towards the kitchen. "I wonder where we're going to stay when this bungalow gets flooded."

* * *

><p>"This is very kind of you to offer your home to us," Emily murmured to Mason as they watched two of his servants carry in her and Ashley's bags, the young blonde was supervising their work. "Henchmen" would likely have been a better word to describe the men. They were hulking specimens over six feet tall with muscles that would make Morgan look like a 98 pound weakling. Mason had explained that they did double as his security team.<p>

"No trouble at all!" Mason beamed, thrilled that he would have her as his house guest. "There is more than enough room here."

"It's just," Emily hesitated. "We've only known each other for about a week and this seems all…" She waved an elegant hand.

"Too fast? Too much?" Mason stepped closer towards her and was pleased when she didn't move back or flinch. _Progress_, he thought. "We'll take things at whatever pace you want to, Emma. And if you don't feel any sparks with me, well, there's no limit on the number of friends a person can have."

She gave him a small smile. "I feel I should repay you in some way-"

"Absolutely not!"

"At least let me take you to lunch." She tilted her head and gave him a winning smile. "How about a picnic?"

"Will you be making it with your own two hands?" he teased.

"Only if you allow me access to your kitchen."

"You have the free run of the entire house, Emma. You and Amanda both."

That was exactly what Emily wanted to hear.


	7. Chapter 7

It looked like a simple delivery van which the driver had parked in the shady spot grabbing a bit of lunch. However, inside was a fully outfitted surveillance system being operated by three men. Currently, the occupants where watching a couple on a picnic.

"The bug in the hamper seems to be working fine," Morgan said as he adjusted a dial. He could hear Emily and Mason's voices loud and clear through the headset he wore.

"Reid is with Seaver?" Hotch asked.

Rossi nodded. "Seaver is going to try to do a little snooping around. Mason apparently gave them the run of the house so she's invited her 'boyfriend' over for lunch, with Mason's blessing."

Hotch threw the older agent a worried look. "So soon? They've just moved in."

"Which gives Ashley a good excuse to look around the house," Rossi replied patiently. "Hotch, I know you have some doubts about her and she is green, but she's got good instincts and Prentiss has been working with her a lot. I'm sure Emily was clear about how far Seaver should go today."

Hotch nodded, but the worried look still didn't leave his face. He put on his headset so he could here Emily and Mason's conversation.

"So tell me, Emma, have you ever been married before?" He had been avoiding too many personal questions, seeing how reticent she had been with her, or really anyone but Amanda. However, now that she and her assistant would be staying with him, he thought she might be comfortable enough to give a few more details about her life.

Emily hesitate a moment, still making sure she showed some of "Emma's" lingering skittishness. "I'm a widow. My husband died about five years ago. Cancer."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"How did your wife die?"

"Boating accident. She drowned."

"Not here?"

"No, in Jamaica." There was a touch of sadness in his voice.

"You still miss her," Emily said gently.

Mason nodded and seeing her sympathetic look, launched into a long story about his time with his late wife. Emily listened patiently, encouraging him with a word here and there. It was a full ten minutes later before Mason realized what he was doing and he let out an embarrassed laugh.

"God, what an idiot you must think I am," he said sheepishly. "Here I am going on and on about my late wife who's been dead ten years."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Emily replied gently. "It's obvious to me that you loved her very much. I think you're very fortunate to have experienced that type of love."

He gazed at her in admiration and warmth. "I was right about you."

Emily tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"There's kindness in your eyes."

The blush that came to her was real and she cast her eyes downward, embarrassed by the sincere compliment he gave her. He smiled warmly at her reaction and then said in a soft voice.

"Tell me about your husband."

"If I'm being honest, I can't say we had the love story you and Brigid had, but we did love each other. He was a good man. The brain cancer was very quick, but I'm glad we had those last few months together."

"Ever consider re-marrying?"

Emily shrugged. "Maybe, but well, dating is not my thing and sometimes-" She stopped abruptly.

Mason quirked an eyebrow at her. "What? What were you about to say?"

"Nothing," Emily mumbled and busied herself with the picnic basket.

Mason gently reached out to still her hands. "Emma? Emma, look at me." When Emily raised her eyes she had her features schooled to show sadness and a bit of fear. "Honey, what is it? What happened to you? Please, tell me."

Hotch's grip on his pen tightened when he heard the endearment slip out of Mason. Rossi noticed the small movement and glanced at Hotch. The older profiler had wondered how Aaron would handle this assignment, if the younger agent did have feelings for the brunette. So far, he's done well, but the closer Emily got to Mason, Rossis suspected the harder it would be for Hotch to control his emotions and reactions.

"A few years ago, there was a man, a very bad man." She paused and Mason nodded encouragingly. "He did some truly awful things to other people and to me…" Her voice faltered and she let the innuendo hang out there. Mason's face crumpled into a sympathetic look.

"Oh my God, Emma," he breathed out.

"In a lot of ways, what he did wasn't even the worst part. What was worse was what came after. The looks, the comments. Even people I considered friends and family, those closest to me, well, they never looked at me the same. Amanda has been the only one to truly stick by me."

"She seems like a great young lady," Mason nodded.

"She's helped me through a lot especially when I felt abandoned by everyone else. She stopped me from feeling completely alone. She reminded me that I wasn't dirty and disgusting and a-, a whore, like some people thought." The emotion in Emily's voice was all too real and she took a deep breath to steady herself.

Mason reached out to cover her hand with his. "Know that Amanda isn't your only friend. And know that I think you are a special, wonderful woman who is worth more than she thinks."

Emily smiled shyly at him and Mason changed the subject to more mundane things to put her more at ease. The men in the van however, had a different reaction to Emily's words. Each wondered if she had been speaking about her own experience after the Doyle incident? Had they made her feel so alone and worthless? Of course they did, they hadn't bothered to speak to her, essentially giving her the cold shoulder. Did they make Emily feel dirty and a whore? Their refusal to look at each other simply confirmed to themselves their guilt. While they never called her a whore to her face, at one point in time, each of them had had that thought, if only for a brief second. The knowledge that they did weighed heavily on them.

They said nothing to each other, wishing to stew in their own private pools of shame. Silently, they listened to the couple's conversation. As the afternoon wore on, they covered a wide range of topics with Emily nudging the conversation every now and then towards politics. Each time she did, the men tensed, waiting to see if Mason might inadvertently reveal something, but he never did. In fact, his entire attitude seemed a bit puzzling to the BAU team.

For a man suspected of bankrolling terrorist cells, he seemed very apathetic towards politics. It could be a front to throw off any suspicion, but he truly did sound like someone who had no strong views on government, international issues or many social issues. Hotch was concerned. Bernard Mason wasn't acting in the manner they expected. He felt a tickle of apprehension crawl up his spine, not the first time he's felt it since this mission started. While they had worked up a profile on Mason, they also had relied on a lot of information provided by Counter Terrorism. That section had concrete evidence that led a trail to Mason, but the man wasn't quite fitting into the role he had been cast.

Hotch needed to talk to Prentiss to get her take on Mason and if she has been getting the same vibe as he had, their mission just got a lot more complicated.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Well, I have to write Seaver as a main character so she had to have her own parts too.**

Ashley Seaver smiled at the second "servant" she passed as she led Spencer Reid to the library. They walked into the book-lined room and she closed the door behind them with a sigh. "Geez, Mason's got his goons swarming all over this place."

"He definitely appears concerned about security," Reid agreed even as his attention was on the books. He whistled. "And an impressive collection of first editions."

"Reid, come on, we're supposed to be looking for information that will help us locate or tells us anything about those terrorist cells Mason is funding."

"Then we probably should go to his study," Reid said sensibly.

"I'm trying to find the study," his fellow agent shot back in exasperation. "He only gave us a brief tour and he didn't show us all of the rooms. The study wasn't on the list. And I get the feeling those so-called servants who look they can snap both of us with their pinkie, would get a little suspicious if I suddenly ask them where the boss' study is." She sighed softly. "Why do I feel like we're playing Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys?"

"If this was a true Nancy Drew situation, I would advise us to be on the alert for someone to knock us unconscious. Nancy Drew had a high propensity for that. I'm surprised she didn't wind up with brain damage."

Seaver stared at the young genius, uncertain about what to be more surprised about, that Reid had read Nancy Drew or that he was seriously criticizing the fact that there was a lack of indication the heroine was suffering from brain damage due to multiple concussions she received over the course of the series. She shook her head and focused on the bigger issue at hand, finding the elusive study, which, unfortunately, sounded like the title of a Nancy Drew novel. She really needed to get off this Nancy Drew thing. She looked up and something caught her eye. Ashley frowned at something across the room. "Is that another door?"

Reid looked over at the area she pointed out. He walked up to the wall and could just barely make out the hinges that blended in so well with the woodwork. Examining the area more closely, he found the door handle and opened the door. A short narrow corridor led to another door. He gestured for Seaver who went ahead and he quickly followed.

The second door opened up to a larger hallway, one Seaver and Reid had not been down before. Three doors were along one side. The first door was a bathroom, but the second door finally revealed what looked to be the elusive study. They quickly stepped in and with one eye on the door, began their work.

Due to his memory and speed reading abilities, Reid took the paper files while Seaver worked on the laptop that was there. She phoned Garcia.

"Speak mere mortal," Garcia said in greeting.

"Garcia, I'm in Mason's study and I have his laptop in front of me. It's powered up and password protected."

"Okay my lovely baby agent, let's get to work."

Working with Garcia, Seaver managed to figure out the password. As Garcia pointed out, most people pick something familiar to them, name of a child or spouse. Ashley tried "Brigid" and it worked.

"Not the greatest security on there if he's storing information on terrorist activities," Reid commented even as he continued to search through the files.

Seaver merely made a grunting noise as she listened to Garcia's instructions. As soon as she had the computer wirelessly connected, Garcia worked her magic and hacked into the computer. She installed a program that would allow her to monitor Mason's activities and search his files undetected and unimpeded.

"Okay, let's get out of here," Seaver said. It was agreed that they wouldn't spend more than ten minutes in the room uncertain if their movements in the mansion were being monitored.

Reid nodded, closing the drawer he had been looking in. Cautiously, they opened the study door and glanced around the hallway. With the coast clear, they stepped out of the study, quietly closed the door and strolled unhurriedly down the corridor heading for the garden where they knew they couldn't be overheard. They had just rounded a corner from the corridor the study was located when they ran right into a woman in her late 30s.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

The resemblance to Bernard Mason was strong enough that even if they hadn't seen pictures of her in his file, they would know she was a relative.

"I'm Amanda Stanton," Ashley stammered. "My employer, Emma Parker, and I are Mr. Mason's house guests. This is my friend, Spencer Richards." Reid waved at the woman.

She narrowed her eyes at them noting that they had just come from where the study was located. "Guests? Well, I didn't know Bernard had invited anyone to stay with us. But I've just arrived from New York, so he might not have had a chance to mention it."

"Oh, it was very last minutes. Mr. Mason was kind enough to allow us to stay. Our bungalow got flooded when a pipe burst." Ashley knew she was laying on the wide-eyed ingénue act a little thick and cautioned herself to dial it back a little.

"Hmmm," the woman said. "I'm Nina Mason, Bernard's sister." She smiled thinly at them. "Welcome."

"Nina?"

Behind Nina Mason, Emily and Bernard were standing, having just come back from their picnic.

"Bernard!" Nina cried out enthusiastically. She went up to hug and kiss her brother. She looked expectantly at Emily.

"Emma Parker, allow me to introduce you to my little sister, Nina."

"It's very nice to meet you, Nina," Emily said as she shook the other woman's hand.

"Likewise," Nina murmured though no one missed the long look she gave Emily. A look, Prentiss noted that had a bit of concern in it as well.

"I wasn't expecting you for another three weeks. Is everything okay?" Bernard asked his sister.

She tore her eyes away from Emily. "Hmm? Yes, of course. I just found myself able to get away a lot sooner than I originally thought."

"Nina is one of the VPs at my company, but she also runs her own non-profit, Water Ways. They bring clean water to Third World countries. I don't know how she finds time to sleep."

Nina laughed. "Well, my job at BTM is more ceremonial than anything else. Family business and all."

"Uhm, Spencer needs to get back to work," Ashley mumbled as they tried to sidle past the others.

"Oh, and I really should get this picnic basket back to the kitchen," Emily said as she lifted up the object in question.

"A picnic," Nina said. She gave both Emily and Mason a speculative look. "How romantic."

"Nina, why don't we make sure your bags got up to your room okay," Mason muttered as he took his sister's arm and started to lead her away. "Emma and Amanda, we're having dinner at seven if that's okay."

"Sounds great," Emily said as she watched the siblings walk down the hallway Ashley and Reid had just come from. "Why don't you two walk with me to the kitchen and then we'll both walk you out, Spencer."

They didn't speak until they were out by Reid's car.

"Did you find the study?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Seaver replied. "Garcia's hacked into his computer, but I've got to tell you, it was easy to get into. He used his late wife's name as his password." She turned to Reid. "Did you see anything in the files?"

"No," he replied. "It looked entirely business related, what little there was of it. But I did take note of some financial statements. I'll try to replicate them back at headquarters and then maybe Garcia can do a back trace on the transactions to see if there's any suspicious activity there."

"If he's involved with those cells, he's not going to have that information lying around his study like that," Emily mused.

"Where else would it be? His bedroom?" Ashley immediately regretted saying those words. If the information was in Mason's bedroom, the only person who had a chance of accessing it would be Emily and there was only really one reason for her to be in that particular room.

"I don't know," Emily replied, ignoring Ashley's comment. "There's just something not right."

"What do you mean?" Reid asked.

"Typically, someone with some political or religious ideology will say something that indicates a viewpoint or opinion. I've given him multiple opportunities this past week to say something and I've gotten nothing."

"Maybe he's just cautious and doesn't want to let anything slip," Ashley added.

"Maybe, but it just really feels like he's only interested in some fun this summer. What could you make of his business records?"

"From what I saw, as the head of a multi-billion dollar corporation, he doesn't seem to have a lot of papers related to his company in his study. But that could be he keeps it on his computer or he delegates a lot of work so he can concentrate on other things."

Emily shook her head. "I can't put my finger on it. It just seems like the profile we worked up for Bernard Mason doesn't exactly fit the actual man."

"Emily," Reid began cautiously. "I hope you aren't losing your objectivity here. I know he can be very charming and likable, but he is still our prime suspect."

Prentiss stiffened at Reid's words and her face became cold and hard. "Of course I haven't lost my objectivity and I know what's at stake here, Reid. You can be assured that I know my job and what needs to be done." With a sharp nod goodbye, she turned on her heel and walked back towards the house.

"I didn't mean-," Spencer started to call out when Ashley jabbed him in the stomach. "Owww! What's that for?"

"For jumping down her throat!"

"I didn't jump down her throat!"

"Look, she's gotten enough crap from JJ and the rest of you the last few months over Doyle and here you are talking about how she can't do her job when placed in a similar situation."

"I didn't say that-"

"You basically did. She'll be fine. She knows what she's doing."

"So you're an authority of her now?"

Seaver stared Reid right in the eye and said, "Considering I'm the only one who's bothered to really talk to her, to support her since she's been back, yeah, I think I know her, and at this point, probably better than any of you."

With that parting shot, Ashley also turned on her heel and marched back to the house, leaving Reid to gape after them.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Poor Reid! I did mean for that part to be a bit Reid wasn't too smart to be asking that question, but Seaver sort of over-reacted too, but it sounds like a few people got as upset as Seaver did! LOL. I have until Sunday to finish this, so I might have to start posting multiple parts to make that deadline or do longer chapters. I hope you enjoy and if you have a moment, please leave a review/feedback. Thanks!**

The pool party offered Emily an opportunity to wear her red malliot swimsuit and turquoise sarong. If her enviable and exquisite figure wasn't enough to attract attention, the color combination would. Those two colors shouldn't have worked together, but somehow they did, and the contrast to Emily's milky skin and dark hair and eyes, she couldn't help but draw everyone's eyes and looks of lust and envy her way.

She did all this for a reason. Given the information of a possible coordinated terrorist strike on public schools on the East Coast, Emily needed to push Mason harder to get closer to her without seeming to have orchestrated it. To this point he had been the perfect gentleman willing to go at the slower pace she had dictated and planned for, but with the new information, they needed to speed things up. What better way than to slam down on his jealousy button? And she had just the hammer to help her do that.

She saw Hotch, dressed rather un-Hotch like in khakis and a white linen shirt as soon as she walked in. She hid a small smile when she saw him do a double-take as his eyes locked in on her. His sunglasses hid his eyes, but Emily knew that she had surprised Aaron Hotchner. He was standing by the bar, giving her an excuse to walk up to him.

Hotch had just turned around when he saw Emily walk into the pool area and nearly dropped the ice tea he was holding. He couldn't help the frozen startled moment when he saw her, but his iron self-control stopped him from showing any more reaction, namely the one that urged him to go over to her, throw her over his shoulder and carry her off to some private room where he could peel the blue and red scraps of fabric covering her delectable body.

Her walk seemed more sensual and seductive than he had ever seen it before. Once again, she wore nude colored, high heeled sandals that blended in with her legs, making them look longer and leaner than ever. A flash of one bare leg would make its appearance with every other step as it poked through the sarong. He noticed nearly every eye was on her. Hotch suspected watching her simply walk caused more than a few hard on's. He should know, he felt the stirrings of one himself.

"Hello," Emily nodded a greeting at him as she stood at the bar. "Gin and tonic, please," she said to the bartender.

This close, he could smell her, a combination of sunscreen, the roses in her body lotion and the unique scene that always said "Emily" to him, all baked under the summer sun into a heady perfume that threatened to break down every ounce of self-control he had.

"It's Mr…Hicks, right?" she asked.

"That's right, but please, call me Aaron," he replied. Mentally, he shook himself. They were here to do a job. He was here to do a job, not to lust after Emily Prentiss, and it was clear she was in agent mode. He needed to be as professional as she was.

She took a discreet glance around and noticed the bartender was at the other end of the bar serving a group of people. They were alone. In a low tone, she said, "I'm going to need your help with Mason."

"What's wrong? Has he done anything to you?" Hotch asked anxiously. If he did anything to Emily, Hotch would personally make him pay.

"No," Emily wrinkled her brow at him, a bit confused by the intense tone he took. "It's the timetable, the fact that the cells are planning on something soon. And the fact that we've gotten nothing out of Mason so far."

"What's your take on him?" Hotch murmured as he kept an alert eye out for anyone who might be taking too much of an interest in their conversation.

She hesitated for a moment, Reid's admonishment ringing in her ears. Would Hotch think her judgment was impaired and she was becoming personally involved? That's what they all think happened with Doyle and she had to admit, where Declan was concerned, she did get involved, but she _always _acted like an agent and never once compromised her principles or her mission. Emily decided to take the plunge. "There's something not quite right. He doesn't seem to be fitting in with what we profiled."

"The profile is just an outline," Hotch reminded her.

Emily sighed. "I _know_, but we also were relying on a lot of information from Counter Terrorism and they aren't exactly known for their profiling skills. I don't know if they might have cherry picked the information because they felt it fit Mason."

"It's been bothering me too," Hotch admitted.

Emily turned to look at him then. "You agree with me?" she asked in disbelief.

"Of course." He sent her a puzzled look. "You're a good profiler and you've got good instincts. You wouldn't say something like that without a reason."

She smiled at him then, the first genuine smile he'd gotten from Emily Prentiss in ages. Hotch couldn't help smiling back at her as a warmth spread in his chest.

One person not smiling was Bernard Mason as he watched the two from the other side of the pool. Slowly, he made his way over to them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw him approaching and hastily said to Hotch, "That's what I need your help with."

"Hmm? What?" Hotch snapped back to the present as he too saw Mason approaching.

"I need to push him a little harder because of the shortened time table. So I'm going for the jealousy button."

"I think I see where I come in and probably where the swimsuit is playing a role."

"You've got that right. If I can get him a little jealous and possessive and reassure him he's the 'only one', maybe I can get him talking more about himself beyond his horses and hobbies."

"Be careful how hard you poke the bear," he murmured as he bent his head to whisper in her ear.

"Seaver's got my back," Emily breathed, trying to control the shudder that his caressing breath caused.

"Hmmmmm," Hotch murmured, forgetting himself and where they were and why there were there as her scent nearly overwhelmed him. They didn't touch, but the skin of their cheeks were a hair's breadth away. Each felt the breath of the other slide over their skin, heating it in a way that the sun did not. Emily moved her head slightly and looked up at him, their eyes locking.

For that one split second as they stared into each other's eyes, they knew the other was willing to cross the line. For once, there were no barriers between them, no walls, no excuses, no lies they told themselves, just naked, unvarnished truth. It wasn't simply that each wanted the other, but that they both felt they _needed_ each other.

"Emma, sweetheart, there you are!"

Mason calling out broke that spell and they stepped back from each other. If Emily had hoped to waken Bernard Mason's jealousy monster, she and Hotch were doing a fine job of acting like two people caught in an illicit act.

The blush was real this time and she spun around guiltily to look at Mason who was staring coldly at both of them. For a moment, she had a glimpse of something in him that was so unexpected that she simply stood staring at him and she nearly physically recoiled. Whatever it was, it touched her on the most primal of levels and the feeling it invoked was fear. It was only Hotch's gentle touch at her back that snapped her out of her trance, but she was extremely unsettled.

Quickly she formed her face into a smile. "Bernard! There you are!"

"Where else would I be?" he said smoothly as he came up to kiss Emily on her cheek. He nodded politely at Hotch. "Aaron. Good to see you again. We still need to set a date for that golf outing."

"Of course," Hotch replied, though he was wary of the offer. At another party they had all attended, one thing Hotch found out about Mason was that he was an avid golfer. Hotch himself enjoyed the sport, though he rarely had a chance to indulge in it. However, there had been no talk about setting up an outing. Maybe Emily's tactic was working as Mason was now interested in pursuing this.

He glanced down at Emily, her momentary uneasiness not lost on him. He would have to check with her later on what had happened. One thing he had learned over the years was that Emily Prentiss had very good instincts. If something disturbed her enough that she would fall out of character at such a delicate moment, Hotch knew it had to be something big.

Nina Mason and Seaver had been trailing Bernard. His sister slowed her steps until she stopped and stood there, staring at him talking to Hotch and Emily. A troubled look appeared on her face and Seaver stopped as well, looking directly at her.

"Are you okay, Ms. Mason?"

Seaver's voice seemed to bring Nina back from wherever she was. She shook her head a little and said in an irritated voice. "Yes, yes. I'm fine." She frowned and sighed before she turned apologetic eyes towards Ashely. "I'm sorry, Amanda. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I was just preoccupied with a problem." She continued to stare at her brother and the two brunettes across the way. "Emma is a very beautiful woman."

"Yes," Ashley agreed, curious as to where Nina might be going with this.

"Bernard's told me she's had a rough few years and that you've stuck with her through it all."

"Emma has been very good to me. I'm grateful and proud that she thinks of me as a friend and not an employee."

Nina smiled wanly at the younger woman. "That's good to hear. I think, as her friend, it's best that you keep an eye on her."

"Keep an eye on her?" Seaver's heart began to thump uncomfortably. Had their cover been blown in some way?

"Mason, is…unique. I don't think he's ever gotten over Brigid, his late wife and because of that, his relationship with her, it seems to affect all his subsequent relationships, in not so good ways." She looked intently at Seaver as if trying to convey some other message.

The young agent wasn't sure what the other woman was trying to say. "Uhm, I'm not sure if Emma is interested in _that_ way in Mr. Mason. He's been very nice to both of us, helped us out of the housing issue, but I don't believe there's been any suggestion that it goes beyond friendship."

"Maybe on Emma's part," Nina continued, an urgent note in her voice confused Ashley even more. "Bernard might see it differently. I just don't want to see Emma hurt." She looked appealingly at the blonde.

_Hurt?_ Ashley repeated to herself. Was she talking emotionally or physically? Could Nina Mason know something about her brother's terrorist activities and was trying to make sure "Emma" didn't get caught in the crossfire in some way?

"Nina," Ashley took a step towards her and her own voice took on a note of authority. "Please, Emma is my best friend. She's like a sister to me. If you know of anything or anyone who could be a danger to her, I need to know so I can protect her."

Nina's face shut down and she took a step back. "I don't know what you're talking about. I simply wanted to make sure that Emma knew the situation before potentially getting involved in a relationship with Bernard. Why would there be any danger to her?" She turned then and started walking towards her brother and the two agents, leaving a troubled Seaver in her wake.

"Bernard, Emma, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Nina smiled at Hotch.

"Aaron Hicks, my sister, Nina Mason."

The two shook hands and made small talk for a few moments. Soon, they were interrupted by a group who were discussing something loudly and attracting everyone's attention.

"What was that?" a man close to them had asked.

"The jury found Casey Anthony innocent!" a woman exclaimed. "Can you believe that?"

Suddenly Casey Anthony dominated all the conversations at the party and Hotch, seeing another opportunity to try to gauge where Mason fell on the ideological scale, tried to draw him out.

"I'm really surprised the jury came back with a not guilty verdict," Hotch began. He shook his head. "Some people just shouldn't be allowed on juries, they aren't smart enough. Don't you agree, Mason?"

"Hmmm?" He had been focused on Emily the entire time. "Oh, if I can get out of jury duty I do. Really, who wants to spend all that time cooped up listening to the particulars of someone's awful last minutes or how someone isn't guilty because of a bad childhood? Give me a break."

"As you can see, Mr. Hicks," Nina commented dryly. "My brother isn't the most civic minded person. However, I agree with you, some people shouldn't be allowed to serve on juries, but it's more about how lazy and complacent Americans have gotten. Their brains have petrified from non-use as they only concentrate on getting more and more fast food and entertainment that exploit women and children."

Hotch and Emily looked at Nina with interest. For the past week, Mason had exhibited no political leanings or ideological beliefs of any kind, unusual in someone connected to terrorist activities. However, Nina seemed to have some definite ideas.

"That's a little harsh, don't you think, Nina? I mean, not all Americans are like that," Emily replied in a mild tone. She caught Hotch's eye and raised her eyebrow slightly, understanding they would take opposite roles in trying to draw Nina Mason out.

"We've become a society who worships skinny, young starlets and breathlessly follow their every move. If that's not enough to petrify one's brain, I don't know what would."

Hotch laughed. "I agree with Nina on that one." His voice became serious. "Our nation and the people have lost their way recently. We've forgotten the important things in life."

"I think you're both making blanket, unfounded statements," Emily responded. "There are plenty of good, intelligent people in America."

"But much fewer than there used to be and definitely not in the places of power. No, we have the weak and selfishly motivated ones in charge, only concerned with getting re-elected all the while driving this nation to the ground."

Emily laughed nervously. "Why Nina, you sound like such a radical. Mason, help a girl out here."

Mason smiled wryly. "I always said that Nina was born in the wrong era. She would have made the perfect 60's radical." He patted Emily's hand. "Don't worry, honey, Nina does her talks at parties, she rails against the establishment, all the while enjoying the money it puts in her pocket."

Nina bristled at his comments. "Bernard, you know as well as I do a lot of my money goes into the Foundation. My entire wardrobe costs as much as that outfit you have on now."

Mason's laugh was condescending and Emily wouldn't have blamed her if Nina took a swipe at him. He simply leaned over and kissed his sister on her cheek. "Nina is our little radical, but it's all harmless talk."

His sister nearly growled at him but didn't argue further. Emily and Hotch suspected this was an oft repeated conversation between the two, but it was a very interesting one to them. With only a slight tilt of her chin, Emily communicated to Hotch that they needed to look more closely at Nina Mason. Hotched quirked up one corner of his mouth just a fraction, telling Emily her messaged was received and he agreed.

Watching all this, completely unnoticed by the group was Ashley Seaver. She too had noted Nina's much more strident comments and the silent communication between the two older agents. She marveled at how they did it with just the barest of facial movements. Rossi had told her that the rhythm and synchronous styles Hotch and Prentiss had was something he had never seen before and he greatly admired. Ashley did too. She had witnessed their tag team interrogation style before as they wore down the defenses of a suspect until they got the information they needed. Their seamless work on Nina Mason was equally impressive.

But Seaver was still troubled by her earlier conversation with Nina Mason. At the first opportunity she got, she needed to discuss it with one of the other agents.


	10. Chapter 10

As the party wore on, Mason seemed to relax, but became more possessive of Emily. So much more that he usually had one proprietary arm wrapped around Emily's waist. While Hotch knew it was all part of the plan and necessary for the mission, he barely kept himself in check as he gazed jealously at the couple.

Emily knew that Mason was challenging Hotch by being more physical with her than he had ever been before. She even started to lean into him, earning her a startled, but pleased look. Good, if he was feeling that she was beginning to trust him, maybe he'll open up more to her and she can find out something about these terrorists cells.

Her plan was going well, but there was a puzzling development. Hotch was to play the other "man" in order to get Mason's jealousy fired up. He had done that and Mason had reacted in the manner they thought he would, challenging Hotch, being more possessive of Emily. They hadn't discussed what Hotch's next step would be after Mason had been provoked. Emily assumed he would just push Mason a bit more and then back-off, allowing time for her to show she trusted the man more. Emily then expected Hotch to excuse himself and slip away from them.

He hadn't.

In fact, Hotch looked like he was stewing in anger and he was constantly with them. It wasn't obvious to anyone else, but Emily had known Hotch long enough to tell when he was angry. He was really angry now and she didn't understand why. She resolved to ask him as soon as possible in case he had another strategy on how to handle the situation.

They got a private moment with each other in the late afternoon. An old friend of the Mason family had cornered Mason and his sister and Emily had excused herself to use the powder room. She was just coming out of it when she felt a hand grasp her arm and tug her into what looked to be the game room judging by the pool table in there.

"What the-?" she started to say and then realized it was Hotch who was manhandling her. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get a moment alone where we can talk," he said. He hadn't let go yet and was standing very close to her, his intense gazed locked with hers.

They were back at that moment by the pool where they were hyper aware of the other, the scent, the heat, the energy. Unconsciously, they started to move ever closer and for one wild moment, Hotch considered just picking her up and laying her on the pool table, slowly removing her sarong and bathing suit until she was naked before him and soon to be under him. Even as that thought ran through his head, his rational side scrambled to regain control. Hotch seemed to remember himself and he let go of her arm. They each took half a step back from each other.

"Your plan to get Mason jealous seems to be working," Hotch commented. "Are you sure that'll be the extra push he needs to be a little more relaxed with you? Trust you more?"

"I hope so," Emily sighed. She shook her head.

"But?"

"Well, like we talked about earlier, are we sure Mason is the right guy? You heard both him and Nina out by the pool. She sounds like the more likely candidate. Maybe Counter Terrorism has it wrong."

"It could be an act or maybe they're both in on it together. I'll have Garcia dig more deeply into Nina Mason, though from what they've told us, Counter Terrorism looked pretty closely at her."

"I just can't see Bernard involved with terrorists," Emily shook her head.

The use of the man's first name annoyed Hotch and he gave Prentiss a hard stare. "I hope you're not becoming personally involved here, Prentiss," he said stiffly. "I need to know you can remain objective."

He had said those words to her once before and even moreso than then, they angered her now, especially with Reid's similar comments still rattling around in her head.

"I can keep my objectivity on this mission, sir," she said the 'sir' much in the same disdainful tone she used when addressing Chief Strauss as 'ma'am'. Hotch's eyes hardened. "I know what needs to be done."

He didn't like the sound of that last statement. "What do you mean by that?" Images of Emily seducing Mason danced in his head and he felt his constant companion of the last few weeks, jealousy, awaken and rear its ugly head.

"That I will do what's necessary to ensure that this mission is a success." She couldn't understand why he would be angry at that, but she didn't care. Emily was still angry that Hotch would think she was developing feelings for Bernard Mason. Is that what they think about her relationship with Doyle? That she fell in love with that monster? That she would have risked lives for him? Is that how little they think of her? If so, no wonder Hotch had been doubting her abilities as an agent since her return to the team.

It was her first days with the BAU all over again where she was the outsider who needed to prove herself over and over again to these people, never being able to show she had just as good, if not even better, skills than they did. Except now, they had a firm and unfair opinion of who she was. Emily was sick of it and this only further strengthen her resolve to transfer out of the BAU once the mission was over.

Hotch watched as Emily's spine stiffened and a look he hadn't seen in years fell over her face. The cool, professional tone she used, along with the look, took him back to when she was first assigned to his team. He remembered that rocky beginning and immediately felt a pang of regret for making her feel as if they were back to that point in their relationship. Before he could say something to remedy the situation, she spoke.

"Despite what you might think of me, sir," she nearly spat out that last word, "I am a good agent and I know how to do my job. All I'm asking is that you trust me to do my job one last time and when this is all over, you'll never have to see me again." She turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, leaving a stunned Hotch in her wake.

He hesitated only a moment before taking off after her. Hotch caught up with Emily just a dozen steps away from the game room and grabbed her arm again. This time though, the momentum of both of their bodies knocked them a little off balance and she swung around awkwardly. Hotch's other hand reached out to grab her opposite arm to steady her, but his own balance was a bit off and they wound up bumping up against the wall, with Emily pinned between it and Hotch's body.

Unconsciously, as though it was moving of its own volition, his body pressed against hers, his hard muscled one against her soft feminine form. They could feel almost every inch of the other's bodies and what they felt made their eyes darken and their breaths quicken. Emily nervously licked her lips, drawing Hotch's intense gaze down to her mouth. Reflexively, his lower body pressed harder against hers, causing her to breathe a little more rapidly and her full breasts to brush more insistently against his chest.

One of his legs began to move and she could feel a knee brush between hers. Her legs suddenly having a mind of their own parted and she could feel one muscular thigh suddenly between them. Her eyes fluttered slightly as Hotch's thigh brushed lightly against the heaviness between her legs and her breath came out in anxious gasps.

He lifted a hand and trailed his fingers against the side of her face, marveling at how soft her skin was. She smelled different than she did before and he knew it was from the arousal she was feeling. It made him smile a feral, pleased smile, distinctly satisfied in a masculine way that he made her like this.

"Emily," he whispered her name as his head started to bend towards her.

"Emma? Where are you?"

They heard Bernard calling for her and jumped back from each other, Emily gazing guiltily at Hotch and he was angry and frustrated by the interruption. They quickly schooled their faces and waited until Mason turned a corner and saw them there. They saw the light of suspicion in his eyes and he looked from one to another.

"Is there a problem?" he asked as he came up to stand next to her.

"No problem," Emily said brightly with a smile. She gestured at Hotch. "Aaron was being very annoying by pointing out some of the points Nina had made earlier and which he believes are valid indications of the deteriorating state of our society." She wrinkled her nose in distaste.

Hotch nodded, knowing they still had a job to do but silently vowing to continue things with Emily when they had some privacy. "Emma here still believes that what made America great before is still here. I think Nina is right that today's society has too many lazy, entitled people and we've lost sight of what is really valuable and worthwhile."

"Here we go again," Emily breathed out with a roll of her eyes.

Mason laughed. "I think that's an indication that maybe you should find my sister to carry on the conversation with. I'm with Emma. Things might be bad all around the world, but it's still pretty good here. As long as I have my wine cellar and the company of a beautiful lady," he smiled at Emma, "I can't say I have much to complain about."

He seemed sincere and Emily gave Hotch a pointed look. Despite what had almost just happened between them, they were back in agent mode and their main issue at the moment was the fact that Bernard Mason wasn't fitting the profile of their suspect.

They headed back to the party, Mason's arm securely around Emily's waist with Hotch trailing after them, his eyes boring holes into the couple's back. Just as he was about to go out back to the pool, Seaver stopped him.

"Sir, may I speak to you a moment," Ashley whispered.

Hotch glanced around and then tilted his head off to a side hallway where they had some privacy.

"What is it?" he asked as he kept a look out to make sure they weren't surprised by anyone.

Quickly and succinctly, Seaver related her conversation with Nina Mason to Hotch. He frowned and looked directly at her.

"Do you think she was trying to warn you about something specific regarding Mason or was she more concerned about 'Emma' getting her hopes up too high?"

She bit her lip and looked undecided. "I'm not sure. I've tried to get her to say more, but she clammed up. Sir, there's just something…off about this whole thing."

"I agree," Hotch replied grimly. "I question how good is that information Counter Terrorism gave us. Things aren't fitting quite the way they should. Either Mason is a very good actor and knows how to cover his tracks…"

"Or he's not the link," Ashley finished for him.

"And if he is a good actor and can cover his tracks so well, Counter Terrorism wouldn't have been able to trace things to him so easily." Hotch shook his head. "It's just all off." His voice held a note of frustration.

"There is, there is something about Mason," Seaver began. At Hotch's encouraging look, she elaborated. "I think Emily has sensed it too. I can't quite describe it, but I don't know, there's something there, I just don't know what it is. It's in how he looks at her sometimes. It's not lust or attraction or fascination, I know what that looks like." She gave Hotch a pointed look and for a moment, he appeared startled and then he looked suspiciously at her. Seaver hid her grin. "It's something else."

"Do you think he's on to her?" Hotch asked anxiously.

"No. No, I don't think our covers are blown, but-," she shook her head. "I can't describe. It's just something there that's not quite right about him.

"Keep your eyes open and your wits about you. Both of you," Hotch said sternly. "We're not far away, but you two are essentially on your own."

Seaver nodded and let him proceed her out towards the pool. She waited about five minutes and then followed him out. She saw that Hotch had rejoined Emily and Mason who were with another couple and all five of them seemed to be engaged in a lively conversation. Ashley's eyes wandered over the rest of the guests, looking for Nina Mason. She spotted her almost immediately, standing about twenty feet away from her brother and the two agents. Nina's eyes were riveted on the pair and she had a worried frown on her face.

Ashley made her way towards Nina, a plan formulating in her mind as she covered the 100 yards or so to the other woman.

"They look quite happy," Ashley said as she sidled up to Nina. "Maybe your concerns about Emma getting her heart broken are unfounded. Perhaps they've both found someone they could have a real relationship with."

Nina turned worried eyes towards Ashley and the FBI agent could see her struggling to hide her concerns. "Perhaps," she murmured. "Bernard has always been very…particular. He has his quirks and standards which makes it difficult for any woman to live up to."

"Quirks and standards?" Seaver repeated blankly. This was sounding less like a warning to protect against a broken heart and more like…a warning. "Nina, what exactly happened in Bernard's past relationships?"

"Nothing," Nina said sharply. "They just got a little above themselves and Bernard broke it off. They weren't worthy of him anyway. Loose, immoral women, all of them." She abruptly walked off, leaving Seaver to gape after her.

Seaver took a deep, steadying breath. She glanced over to where Emily and Hotch were still talking with Mason and the other couple. Her hand went to her skirt pocket where her cell phone was. One finger began to stroke it and she recalled what Emily had told her as they were preparing for this assignment.

"_Remember to listen to that little voice inside of you. I know we stress in profiling how behavior is indicative of something specific, but sometimes, we just know something is wrong but we can't describe it or give a reason as to why we're feeling that way."_

"_Hotch and Dave always emphasize making sure you have the foundation, the evidence to back things up."_

_Emily had nodded. "Of course, you need that. But when investigating, sometimes you need to go with your gut and follow that hunch. Especially if you're going undercover. Sometimes that makes the difference between staying alive or getting killed."_

Seaver hurried back into the house and into one of the bathrooms. She hit a button to speed dial a number.

"Oracle of All Knowledge worth knowing."

"Hey Garcia, its Ashley."

"Ah, hello Baby Agent."

Reid had told Ashley not to take offense at the nickname. He had been Junior G Man for a few years.

"What can I do for you?"

"I need you to see what you can find out on Mason's girlfriends after his wife Brigid died."

"You want me to dig into his past relationships?" Garcia's voice held more than just a few questions. "Why?"

"Just playing a hunch," Seaver replied.


	11. Chapter 11

Hotch threw his hat and golf gloves across the room. They made an unsatisfying sound as they collided softly against the wall despite the force with which he had flung them. He would have thrown his golf clubs, but he had left those in the car. He began to pace the living room of the house that had been rented for him. It was a large house with a spectacular view of the ocean. It was isolated, sitting on a small patch of land, quite a distance from any neighbors. The living room was encased in windows that curved around the semi-circle shape of part of the house. His golf shoes made clicking noises on the tile floor and he vaguely noted he should have taken them off to avoid damaging the floor, but he was too angry and upset to do much more than pace and run his hands through his short hair as he attempted to cool his temper.

They had been in the Hamptons for over three weeks. His team was made up of profilers, not undercover agents and the strain was beginning to show on some of them, including himself. However, Hotch was honest enough to admit it wasn't just the strain of maintaining his cover that was getting to him. It was watching Emily be with another man. Not only was he constantly worried about her and Seaver's safety, but he was forced to watch Emily pretend she was interested in Bernard Mason.

At least he hoped she was only pretending.

He couldn't help but think bitterly of her performance these last few days since the pool party where she had the idea to stoke the jealous beast within Mason by using him, Hotch, as potential competition. Her plan had worked beautifully where Mason was concerned, but for Hotch, it had only furthered weakened those defenses that had been steadily crumbling since Emily Prentiss' return from the dead.

For six months he had been separated from her, never knowing if he would ever see her again. While the others, save for JJ, mourned her death, he constantly fretted over her survival. Had Doyle found her? Had she found Doyle? Was she truly recovered from her injuries? Was she eating enough? Was she warm? Was she alone? All he had were questions and no answers. It drove him insane and it made him realize how much Emily had come to mean to him. Whoever said you never truly appreciate someone until they were gone was absolutely right and he was finding that out in the bitterest of ways.

Then, when she came back, when he was able to look into those warm brown eyes and all he longed to do was to take her into his arms and hold her, what did he do? He reverted to his professional persona and only offered her a dry, cool "welcome back". And then he made matters worse by still holding himself aloof, isolating her even further as the team struggled with her resurrection. He could have been there for her in those months following her return, just like he wanted to be there for her when she was away. But given the opportunity, he had chickened out and now, now all Emily seemed to want was to finish up this mission so she could be as far away from the BAU and him as she possibly could be.

God, he had royally screwed things up and to make matters even more complicated, Hotch was finding it harder and harder to not break character and go physically after Mason whenever he touched Emily, especially after last night and this afternoon on the golf course.

They were once again at some lavish party and he had rounded a corner only to find Emily and Mason locked in a kiss. He was so surprised and stunned, he simply stood there, watching them until a red haze of anger settled over him and he had moved towards the couple, ready to get between them. It was only the intervention of Seaver that kept him from beating Mason senseless. She had darted out and pushed him roughly back into the shadows before pulling him quickly away.

"What are you doing?" she hissed at him as she tried to drag him deeper into the dark and away from anyone else. "You'll mess up everything! She's got him trusting her more!"

He didn't know what he was thinking. He couldn't articulate it, only answering her with a low growl. Her face was obscured by the darkness, but he could imagine the startled look there. They stopped in a copse of trees far away from the party lights and anyone else. They stood there, in the dark, silent.

Seaver finally spoke in a soft voice. "Sir, I know this is difficult seeing Emily in this…role. But you have to trust her to do this job. She knows what she's doing." The young agent paused. "But she doesn't know what it's doing to you."

Being in the dark helped, it made Ashley feel bolder and braver, especially since she couldn't see the glare Hotch was leveling at her, though she imagined she could _feel_ it. "But sir, you've got to control yourself, because right now a lot of lives depend on Emily being successful. Not just our lives, but the lives of the people those terrorist cells are targeting."

That seemed to take some of the anger out of Hotch. She could see his silhouette deflate a little, realizing she was right.

Hotch cleared his throat. "Agent Seaver, you're right. I had a momentary lapse of judgment there. Thank you."

"You're in love with her," Ashley blurted out. She winced because she suspected he was back to glaring at her. She may have felt bolder a few seconds earlier, but now she just felt stupid and embarrassed.

"Agent Seaver, I don't think-"

"I just mean I think you should tell her when the mission is over," she hastily said. Without thinking, her words came rushing out. She winced as she heard them tumbling out, but seemed unable to stop them. "I don't think you'll find she'll be unreceptive to the idea. She watches you too."

"Too?"

The chill on that one word made her shiver. Ashley gulped. "I, uh, have been polishing up on my observational skills and uh, uhm…"

"Have been watching me and Agent Prentiss?"

"Uh yes?" Her big mouth was definitely getting her into serious trouble.

"And you've caught Emily watching me?"

"Uh yes," she continued hesitantly.

"Interesting." Hotch paused, dragging out the silence and causing Seaver to grow increasingly uncomfortable. "We should get back to the party. I'll go first."

He wheeled around and headed back towards the bright lights and people, leaving Ashley blinking at the spot he was standing in a second ago. She wasn't quite sure if she had dodged a bullet or not.

Hotch smiled slightly at the memory of a rattled Seaver. There was potential there, but she still had a long way to go, most especially in how to handle delicate situations. But, he was grateful to her as she had offered him a faint glimmer of hope. Emily had been watching him too. Could she possibly feel something for him as well? He thought back to the pool party and the glimpse of desire he saw in her eyes, the quickened breath as he drew near her and that heady scent of arousal she emitted when he had her pressed against the wall.

His pleasant thoughts faded when he remembered his golf game today with Mason. The anxiety, frustration and anger came rushing back to him and he began to pace again.

Mason had pushed for the golf game and Hotch had obliged, partly to see if he could get any more information out of him and partly to keep the man away from Emily. There was both a professional and personal reason to get him out on the golf course for the afternoon. With Mason away, Emily would hopefully be able to move about more freely around the house to search for evidence and in Hotch's newly admitted, though long simmering, feelings for the brunette, the more time Emily was away from Mason, the better.

However, by the fourth hole it became clear that Hotch wasn't the only one with ulterior motives. Mason had just hit a beauty of a tee off shot that Hotch had honestly complimented. As the two men exchanged spots so Hotch could take his turn, Mason remarked casually,

"Emma is a fascinating woman, don't you think?"

Hotch tensed and took his time placing his golf ball on the tee. "I hardly know her," he replied neutrally. "I've only spoken to her a few times at various parties."

"Really? From what I've observed, it seems you two show an extraordinary amount of ease and comfort around each other. Strange considering how skittish Emma is around strangers."

Hotch was instantly alert, concerned that their covers had been blown or at the least Mason was now on his guard. He racked his brains for any mistake they may have made. He hadn't _thought_ they acted like they had known each other, but there were times that they worked so seamlessly together, forgetting what they were doing. Rossi had commented on it a few times, how Emily seemed to be able to read his mind sometimes and how he would do the same for her. Could this unconscious behavior been noticeable to Mason? Hotch shrugged and remarked carelessly, "I think it's probably because she could care less about me. No reason to be jumpy."

"Hmmm," Mason replied. He was silent as Hotch took a swing and his ball sailed through the air and landed just a few feet in front of Mason's ball. The tycoon smiled thinly at the other man. "Nice shot."

"Thanks," Hotch bared his teeth, his primal, alpha side kicking into high gear. He decided to push Mason a little more. "Mind you, not that I wouldn't mind it if Emma was interested in me. She's a beautiful woman."

Mason looked at him through narrowed eyes but nodded his head slightly. "Of course, a woman like that, what man wouldn't want her? However, she seems to have made her choice and I don't intend to squander the opportunity, or," he looked pointedly at Hotch, "allow anyone to interfere with it."

His anger and jealousy over the mission, the situation, Mason and even Emily herself made him respond recklessly, "I would say that's up to Emma. You can't force someone to have feelings for you."

Mason had gone still and a cold, hard look settled over his features. His voice was quiet and lethal and for the first time, Hotch saw something in the other man's face that was profoundly unsettling.

"I have no intention of forcing Emma to do anything she doesn't want to do. But I will not be made a fool of either."

Every protective instinct of Hotch's was on high alert and he just knew that this man was a much more dangerous threat than they had initially thought. Behind the good looks, charm and manners was a something dark and deadly. If Emily inadvertently crossed that side or did something to trigger it, Hotch knew things would wind up very badly for her.

And just as quickly as it was there, that dark side of Mason that Hotch had caught a glimpse of was suddenly gone and the other man had smoothly moved on to a new topic of conversation. However, as Hotch responded automatically, his mind was elsewhere with only one over-riding thought,

He needed to get Emily out of that house as soon as possible.

Hotch thought back to those hours on the golf links and mentally kicked himself. Maybe he had provoked Mason, pushed him too hard and potentially put Emily in danger. He had to warn her in some way.

He called Seaver's cell phone on his way back from the golf course. The young agent informed him that Emily was inside the house with Nina Mason while she, Ashley, was trying to keep as many of the security personnel occupied outside of the house by having them help her look for her missing iPad on the extensive grounds. He told her to make sure Prentiss contacted him as soon as possible.

And here he was waiting for her to call. Frustrated, anxious and needing something to do, Hotch changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. A small exercise room was in the house, outfitted with various pieces of equipment including a punching bag. Putting on a pair of gloves, he worked off some of his energy and frustration on the bag until his t-shirt and body were drenched in sweat.

Breathing heavily and physically tired, he stripped off his gloves and then the sweat-drenched t-shirt. He grabbed a bottle of water and downed half of the contents before picking up a towel and wiping his face with it. He heard the doorbell ring and went to answer it. He never had any visitors except Rossi or Morgan swinging by to give him updates so he thought it was one of them. However, when he swung the door open, he found himself looking into a pair of big brown eyes.

Emily.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Okay, I will admit it now. I'm not going to have this finished today. It's almost there, but I know I won't make it by July 31, 2011 at 11:59 pm. So it'll take a few more days to finish but it is almost done. Thank you for those who have stuck by this story and a special thanks for those who have provided comments and feedback. If you have a chance, please read and review. Thank you.**

Sometimes, the obvious answer is really the answer.

With Hotch keeping Mason busy on the golf course and Seaver having the majority of the security team/servants hunting for her iPad out on the grounds, Emily had to give Ashley acting points for the convincing, tearful appeal she made to the head of security to help her locate the missing equipment, the brunette had practically the entire house to herself. The kitchen staff rarely ventured out of their domain and Nina Mason was preoccupied with a business call in the study. Emily now had the opportunity to search Mason's bedroom and the few places they hadn't looked for information on the terrorist cells. However, this golden opportunity had netted her absolutely nothing.

Frustrated and frankly out of ideas on what else she could do, Emily started to walk down the corridor where the study was located seeing if she could maybe fish some information out of Nina when she heard the other woman talking to someone on the phone.

"Why did they move the timetable up?" Emily heard Nina say. "And the targets have been selected? Yes, yes, I'll make sure more funds are sent to groups so they can buy the final components. I'll make sure that happens today. Of course I can do it from here, I've got my laptop with me."

Emily shrank back against the wall, and listened to the rest of Nina's conversation. There was no doubt about it, as they had begun to suspect Bernard wasn't the link, Nina was and any evidence was on the woman's laptop. It was as simple as that.

Sometimes things just fell into your lap.

All Emily had to do now was to get her hands on Nina Mason's laptop, find whatever information was on there and get the hell out of this house so she could go back to DC and bitch out Counter Terrorism for fingering the wrong Mason and wasting time on him.

She slipped away when she heard Nina end her conversation and the clicking of the keyboard keys as the other woman worked on her laptop. Emily was walking across the foyer when the front door open and Ashley strolled in with Max, head of security in tow.

"Thank you for helping me find my iPad, Max," the blonde said brightly. "I can't believe I forgot I was at the stables too. I'm sorry I had you guys looking all over the garden for it."

"That's okay, Miss Amanda," the big hulk said. "Just as long as we found it."

"And it's a good thing you did," Emily made her voice sound annoyed and peevish. "Amanda, how many times have I told you to be more careful with that equipment? It had some of my design ideas on it. Those clients are expecting emails from me."

"I'm sorry, Emma," Ashley made her voice sound contrite and lowered her eyes, but not before she saw Max give her a sympathetic look.

"Thank you, Max, and your men for your help, though it would have been unnecessary if Amanda was just a little more careful. Amanda, come with me, we need to have a talk about being a little more responsible." Emily gestured for Ashley to follow her.

The blonde gave a small smile to Max who gave her another sympathetic look before she scurried after Emily who was headed for a side terrace. They stood outside on the corner of the terrace that offered them some privacy, exchanging information.

"Well, it almost seems too simple," Seaver replied when hearing about Nina Mason's conversation.

"Sometimes the easy answers are the right ones," Prentiss returned. "What we do next should be as simple. If an opportunity presents itself, we get the files from the laptop or take the laptop itself if we have to. We can even wait until tomorrow night when the Harrisons' have their party. We're all going, but you can plead a headache and stay here. We also need to let Hotch and the others know about these new developments."

"Hotch wants to talk to you ASAP," Seaver informed the older agent.

A look of concern flitted across Emily's face. "Did he say why? Did something happen during his golf game with Mason?"

Seaver shrugged. "He didn't say, but he sounded…worried."

Emily bit her lip. "I'm not going to call him, I'm going to go see him. Now that we know the key is Nina and not Bernard, it's a little less urgent for me to be with him all the time. Besides, there's something about him that keeps bothering me."

"What?"

"Remember how I said to trust your gut? My gut is telling me that while he might not be linked to terrorists, there's something off about him and that was even before you told about your conversation with Nina. Did Garcia get back to you yet on that information you asked for?"

Seaver shook her head. "I haven't had a chance to check in with her. Maybe I should go with you, pretend we're doing errands and you can drop me off in town and go see Hotch?"

Emily nodded. She never verbalized it, but she didn't like leaving the younger agent alone at the house with no back-up, especially knowing Mason was on his way back. Ever since the pool party Emily hadn't been able to shake the anxious feeling Mason caused whenever he was around. She didn't want Seaver in his presence anymore than she wanted to be in it. It took them only a few minutes to make their excuses to Nina Mason and head out to Emily's car. She dropped Seaver off at the bookstore and then drove out to Hotch's beach house.

She hadn't been there before, but knew the way. The house was set back from the main road and had a short, private road leading to it. She saw Hotch's car parked in front of the house and she parked next to it.

Emily rang the doorbell and waited for Hotch the answer. She was surprised when he did.

He stood before her, shirtless and sweaty, clad only in a pair of gym shorts and sneakers and socks. A towel was draped around his neck and she saw the same surprised look that she knew was on her face mirrored back to her on his.

"Prentiss?" Hotch asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh," she rallied to try to get her brain to function. "Seaver said you wanted to talk to me and well, I needed to get out of that house," she replied. She gestured with her hand. "May I come in?"

Hotch nodded and stepped aside to let her pass. Emily ducked her head, trying to avoid staring at his bare, muscular chest. It was the most skin she had ever seen Hotch exposing and a part of her wondered why he didn't show off what was underneath those suits more often. It was definitely something he needn't be shy about. She felt her face heating up, embarrassed by her thoughts and mentally slapped herself.

"Why did you need to get out of the house? Is something wrong?" Hotch asked as he locked the front door and followed her into the living room.

She forcibly brought her focus back to the mission and tried to ignore the fact that her supervisor was standing before her with practically no clothes on. "No, actually, I think something good has happened. We finally got a major break." She told him about the conversation she overheard and the plans she had formulated with Seaver on how to get the necessary files and information. Hotch listened quietly and then nodded his head.

"Good. After all these weeks, its funny how it all turned on a simple conversation you overheard."

"Seaver thinks it's all too Nancy Drew-ish," Emily added as she rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

A ghost of a smile was on Hotch's face. "Seaver into Nancy Drew? I'm not surprised by that."

Emily let out a soft laugh. "And according to her, Reid is apparently quite familiar with the series."

Hotch let out a puff of breath that passed for a laugh. Feeling a little more at ease with his near naked state, Emily found she could look him in the face now without blushing.

"So, how did the golf game go?"

"Well, I won."

"Congratulations."

"It didn't make Mason happy."

"Oh. Bad mood?" When he nodded, she asked, "Is that why you wanted to talk to me? To warn me he was going back to the house in a bad mood?"

"Something like that," Hotch replied as he moved closer to her. "I think I may have pushed him a little too hard."

Her brow wrinkled in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She noted with interest that Hotch flushed slightly. She raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he meant by pushing a little too hard.

"I played on Mason's jealousy and hinted at the possibility I would pursue you," he told her. He hastily added when he saw both of her eyebrows raised, "I was trying to see if he would slip up or reveal anything. Now we know there wasn't anything to reveal."

"But why do it in the first place?" she asked in confusion. "The jealousy angle was only needed to get him to trust me a little more and we accomplished that at the pool party days ago. Any more jealousy was just going to provoke him."

"Yes, I saw how much he's "trusted" you since the pool party." That snippy response came out before Hotch could stop it.

"What is that supposed to mean?" was her surprised response.

A tiny voice told him not to go there, but the image of Mason kissing Emily popped into his head again and before he could stop himself, he said, "I saw you kissing him."

Emily blinked at him. "And?"

That one word response effectively silenced that rational little voice in his head and Hotch gave into the weeks, maybe years, of frustration and long repressed emotions.

"And? And? That's all you have to say?" he asked incredulously, his voice getting louder.

"Hotch, why are you upset? You know my assignment was to get closer to Mason and well, kissing was likely going to be part of it." She was genuinely confused by his reaction.

He was suddenly in front of her and his hand came up to grasp one of her arms. "Did you sleep with him?"

Emily gaped at him and then anger took over. That was what this was about. They've all decided she was just some whore who slept with anyone. She thought at the least Hotch was different, that he didn't look at her like the others did, but she guessed wrong. She shrugged off his hand and glared at him.

"And if I did, what? You want the details? You want to know how he touched me? What sounds I made. Did I say something like, 'Oh yeah, baby, right there. Harder! Harder!'"

Hotch stepped towards her again, but Emily held her ground and they were just a few inches away from each other. "Stop it!" he growled.

"Why? It's what you want to know, right? You're just like all the others." Her voice held a contemptuous note to it. "Looking at me like I'm some whore. Send the whore in to do the whore job while you guys sit nice and clean in your safe smug houses, looking down at me. Oh, no one on Aaron Hotchner's team can get their lily white hands dirtied, except that whore Emily Prentiss. Don't you want to know what your whore did and what Mason did to your who-"

Hotch reached out and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her up against his chest, the thin silk of her wrap dress the only barrier between her skin and his. His eyes were black with anger and something else and she felt herself transported back to that moment in the hallway when he had her pinned against the wall.

"Stop it!" he shouted. "I never want to hear you call yourself that again! No one thinks of you as a whore! You're the only one who keeps throwing that term around!"

"Then why do you keep asking if I slept with Mason?" she yelled.

"Because it's driving me insane knowing he's touching you when I can't!"

"What?" she blinked at him. She wasn't expecting that.

"It's making me crazy seeing him with his hands on you," Hotch growled. If anything, his already darkened eyes became even darker, the pupils almost fully dilated with what Emily now recognized as lust. "Then to see him kiss you, taste you, I wanted to tear him apart that night and then take you away and have you, completely totally."

"Hotch," her voice was shaky, surprised by this turn of events, but definitely aroused by it too. She had been physically attracted to her supervisor for a while and then at some point, that feeling of attraction had turned to something else. However, she knew nothing good could ever come from it, not with her past, so she had shuttered those feelings away, using her marvelous powers of compartmentalization. She had tricked herself into believing he could never feel anything for her. She wasn't even his type given what she had seen. Hotch seemed to prefer petite blondes, which in her mind had always explained his partiality towards JJ. He would never care for a tall brunette. She licked her lips, drawing a heated glance from him. "What are you trying to say?"

This wasn't the way he wanted or expected their conversation to go. He simply wanted to keep things professional, to talk about the mission and how they could finish it up. But his famous control had snapped. _She_ had snapped it. Now, having her here to himself, the end of this God awful mission so close, the culmination of the weeks of watching another man fawn and touch her, it had all become too much for him. He no longer wanted to deny himself what was right in front of him.

"You are not a whore," he growled. "And I want you to stop saying that." He pulled her closer to him and the hands that had gripped her arms traveled down her back, in a continuous motion until they settled on her hips and he drew her closer to him, letting her feel all of him. "And I want you to stop talking about Mason."

"Why?" she said in a soft gasp as she felt him through his gym shorts and her dress. "He's the reason we're here. The mission-"

"Not here. Not now." His head dropped down and he nuzzled the side of her face, his voice a hot whisper in her ear. "Right now, it's just you and me. And something that I've wanted for years. You."

"Me? Years?" she was having trouble following him as pure sensation overwhelmed her. One hand moved to her buttocks, to firmly caress and then grab it. The other hand came up to tunnel through her hair as it turned her face at an angle to his.

He grinned a feral smile at her. "You. Years. I think you might feel the same way too, don't you, Emily."

Heat and moisture pooled between her legs. Her breasts where heavy with need and she could feel every inch of her skin tingle with anticipation as he pulled her ever closer to him. His voice, his voice that she had always loved the sound of, hypnotized and seduced her like a song played by a master.

"Tell me you want this, Emily. Tell me you want me."

She couldn't fight it even if she wanted to. The pull of this man was too strong and it was helped along by her own desires. She uttered the one word he had been breathlessly waiting for her to say.

"Yes."

His mouth came down on hers and the rest of the world faded into oblivion as they kissed.

**A/N 2: The next part is rated "M" so for those who prefer not to read such material, you can skip the next chapter and not miss any of the story. Just the naughty bits.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This part is rated "M". If that offends you in any way or you prefer to not read anything rated "M", you can skip this chapter completely and not lose anything in the story. You have been warned. It is my first piece of CM/Hotch/Prentiss smut, and this is really smut, so be gentle (though I can't guarantee Hotch was, ha!). I hope to have this story finished by this weekend, but I'm not sure if that's going to work out. It is almost done though. I hope folks enjoy and really curious to hear any feedback.**

Hotch's kiss was possessive and passionate. It overwhelmed each of Emily's senses. The second his lips connected with hers, he was demanding everything from her, body, mind and soul. And she surrendered it all eagerly.

She knew Aaron Hotchner never did anything half-way and he expected those around him to be as fully committed as he was. But Emily was never one to simply submit and she returned the passion he was showing her with her own.

Their lips had barely made contact when their tongues were fighting, teasing and tasting the other. She felt one of his hands tunnel into her hair, the other sliding down to her buttocks only to cup it and pull her roughly against his body.

Emily moaned into his mouth when she felt his hardened member against her. Her own hands came up to cradle his face between them and she pulled him even closer into their kiss.

_Sweet Jesus_, Hotch thought as he felt Emily's tongue duel with his, the roughness of it exploring his mouth and contrasting with the softness of her that the rest of his body felt, the silk of her hair, the lushly feminine curves, melting against his hard body. He could feel the heat of her scorching his bare chest, her full breasts, crushed against him, scorching his skin. _Too many clothes_, his mind registered and his hand left her hair to reach blindly out for the tie that held together her wrap dress.

They had to pull back for air and as they did so, Hotch yanked the tie loose and her dress started to fall open. A predatory gleam came into his eyes as he watched the dress fall away and inch after inch of beautiful porcelain skin he had only dreamt about started to reveal itself to him.

That is until Emily grasped at the dress to stop its reveal.

Hotch's eyes flashed up to hers in question and he saw the embarrassed and uncomfortable look in her face.

"Emily?"

She swallowed hard and wouldn't look him in the eye, instead focusing on some spot on the floor to the left of him. He reached out to touch the hand that clutched the dress closed at her chest.

"It's-, I'm not-," she stumbled in her words. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She swallowed hard once and whispered one word. "Scars."

He understood then. He had read the medical report and the extent of the injuries Ian Doyle had inflicted on her and not for the first time Hotch felt that overwhelming rage towards that bastard and regret that Doyle wasn't there now before him so he could personally beat him to death with his bare hands.

Doyle may not have been there before him, but Emily was, and what she didn't need was the impotent rage he felt towards a dead man.

With gentle hands, Hotch reached out and drew her to him, holding her close to his body. He gently tilted her head up, but she still would not look him in the eye.

"Hey," he said softly, willing her to look at him. After a moment, she reluctantly did and he saw those beautiful brown orbs filled with a storm of pain, embarrassment and shame. His hand came up to caress her cheek. "You can never be anything less than beautiful to me. I don't see scars or past mistakes or regrets. I just see you. My Emily."

Her eyes filled with tears. Hotch's gentle hands covered hers and persuaded her to loosen her grip on the dress. The silken material fell away and pooled at her feet. She turned her head away again, not wanting to see the look of disgust or shock she was certain would be on his face.

Hotch's face remained impassive and inscrutable, had Emily bothered to look at him. It was a mask he needed to wear to cover up the resurgence of anger he felt towards Doyle. To know that monster caused his girl such pain and that he couldn't have prevented it or exact any type of revenge nearly choked him.

But his anger wasn't what Emily needed to see now, maybe not ever. He pushed away all thoughts of Doyle and only thought of her and what was before him.

And what was before him was beautiful.

"Never," he said softly in his deep voice, made all the deeper for the emotion consuming him. "Even in my wildest dreams, did I ever think you could be so beautiful."

She looked up into his face then, a hesitant, disbelieving look. However, the light in his eyes, his face, told Emily that Hotch had only spoken the truth. A gentle glow of emotion layered with a good deal of passion shone on his face. He reached out a hand to caress the scar that ran about four inches along her stomach. It was slightly raised, but the surgeons had been skilled and she had received good post-operative care so it didn't look as jarring as the horrific wound she had received would have made him believe it would be. He touched it lightly with his fingertips, caressing it as though his touch would wash away any linger doubts she had about how she looked there.

But that wasn't the scar that she hated. It was when he raised his hand towards her breast that she struggled to control her body. Hotch noticed the slight flinch as his fingers hovered over the brand Doyle had made.

The crude clover had been dealt with by a plastic surgeon, but the faint mark was still there and visible, though if one didn't know what it was, it could have been mistaken for some birthmark. Hotch knew exactly what it was and what it was meant to represent. Doyle had wanted to brand her as forever his on both Emily's body and in her mind. Hotch would not let him succeed in either goal.

"It's ugly, I know," Emily said in a low voice. "I hate it. I hate seeing it. It reminds me of him and when he-," she took a deep shuddering breath.

Hotch's hand went to her cheek and he leaned his forehead against hers. "Shhhhh," he tried to comfort her. "He's gone, Emily. Dead and buried and he'll never hurt you again." When she looked up at him with her large dark eyes, he couldn't resist placing a gentle kiss on her mouth. With their lips just barely touching, he said, "Let me help you forget."

Hotch's head dipped down and she felt him gently kiss the faded brand. Her eyes fluttered closed and her body arched towards his as he lavished attention on that one spot with his lips, tongue and teeth. As Doyle had branded her with that crude instrument, Hotch was doing the same with his mouth, marking her as his, but not out of revenge or hatred, but of love and desire.

He felt himself grow harder when he tasted her flesh. Sweet, she was so sweet. His hands came up her back and he found the clasp of her bar. With dexterous fingers, he undid the clasp and the scrap of silk and lace fell away to join the dress puddle on the floor. He stepped back from her just so he could see her completely and he grew impossibly harder.

She stood before him clad only in her lace panties and the same nude colored sandals that made her mile long legs look even longer. The top of one breast was slightly redder from where he had suckled on it. Her hair was disheveled and her lips swollen from his kisses. _Master artists would have killed each other for the privilege of painting her_, Hotch thought as his eyes roamed over the lush, large bosom down to the narrow waist under which her hips flared gently out. His gaze went up where he saw glowing eyes, flushed cheeks, red lips all set in a an exquisite face and framed by long, dark silk.

"Hotch," she said in a soft, breathless voice.

It was enough to snap him into action. With economical and quick movements, he stripped off his shoes, socks and gym shorts until he stood naked in front of her. Emily sucked in her breath as she saw him completely, her eyes lighting upon the rampant erection that jutted out towards her. They moved towards each and were once again frantically kissing, lust burning through any doubts and reservations.

He walked backwards, drawing her towards the couch a few feet behind him, both of them never breaking their kiss. He lowered them down onto it so they were sitting sideways, face-to-face. One of his legs was folded underneath him and his other foot rested on the ground. He pulled Emily down and onto his lap until she was straddling him.

They broke their kiss, gasping for air. She threw her head back as he kissed, licked and sucked his way down her throat. Her back arched sharply as he lavished more attention on her breasts. He took as much of one into his mouth as his hand came up to cup and caress the other. Emily gripped the edge of the couch with one hand and the backrest of it with the other. Her hips began to rock back and forth, her panty covered core rubbing insistently against Hotch's cock. He let out a feral growl.

She felt fingers trail down her side and ghost over her thigh before they delved between her legs. He pushed aside the panties and she felt him slide a finger inside of her.

"God, you're so tight and wet," he moaned even as she mewled in pleasure.

Hotch ruthlessly clamped down over his own needs and urges as he slipped one and then another finger into her, filling her with those long, clever digits that caused her to sob and shudder. He watched as Emily twisted and rode his fingers, undulating to a rhythm that he set to give her as much pleasure as possible. She looked magnificent, her hair wild, her skin flushed, her beautiful eyes closed and her lips trembling as he pushed her up and then over the edge. He could feel the delicate muscles inside of her clench his fingers and an extra gush of moisture coating his hand as a high pitched sob was wrenched from her throat.

It had been so long, so long since a man had even had his hands on her in this way. When she felt Hotch's finger slip into her she nearly fell over the edge then and there, but then she felt another and then another inside of her and he proceeded to manipulate her body in a way no lover in the past had ever done so before. He pushed her to the brink only to withdraw and tease her back, driving her up and bringing her down until she was riding his fingers wantonly. When he finally allowed her to fall over the edge, she could only cry out some unintelligible word and fall backwards onto the couch, her muscles feeling like jelly and completely useless. Her legs fell open for him.

Before she even recovered completely, through lazy, passion drenched eyes she watched as Hotch transformed into a dark, lust-driven satyr. She shivered in breathless anticipation as he deliberately tore her panties from her body and drop the tattered remains onto the floor. He slipped her high heels off of her and then shifted his body closer to her, pushing one of her legs off the edge of the couch until her foot rested on the floor and draping her other leg until it hooked over the back of the couch. His eyes traveled down, looking at her completely open to him. Focused his intent gaze on the apex of her legs where he could see her juices wetting the soft hair that covered her sex.

She could see his member, large and rampant, a bead of moisture dripping off the tip that caused her to almost salivate. He looked up and their eyes locked and she could see him hesitate, still offering her a chance to stop him. She could no more stop what was about to happen than she could stop the sun from rising. It was inevitable and the most natural of things. It was simply meant to be.

Emily reached out to caress his face. "Hotch, I need you."

It was what he needed to hear and in one swift movement he was embedded to the hilt inside of her. Emily let out a small cry, partly colored with a little pain. With the last shred of control he had, Hotch waited, letting her breath deeply and rapidly to adjust to his sudden and large intrusion.

It had been too long for her and she hadn't expected him to be quite so large. She felt him remain still, giving her a chance to adjust to him and she felt an overwhelming feeling of tenderness towards him. She could feel him tremble slightly from the exertion of holding himself still. She shifted and moved her hips, pure pleasure radiating throughout her body and signaling to Hotch she was ready.

The last of his control left him and with an answering growl, he roughly grasped her hips, knowing he would likely leave bruises there before he began to stroke in and out of her with hard, deep strokes.

Her cries and his growls created their unique song as Hotch drove them both towards that moment of ultimate connection. He was fast approaching his climax, almost too fast and his hand slipped down between to ensure she was with him when he fell over. His finger slipped inside of Emily and he stroked her, catapulting her over the edge. Her clenching walls provided him with that final moment and he felt himself erupt inside of her as he thrust deeply one more time, filling her with his seed. His hips jerked erratically as he pumped everything he was into her willing body.

Hotch collapsed against her, careful to take some of his weight on his arms. Their sweaty bodies melded with each other and they could feel the beating of the other's racing hearts as they slowed down.

After a few minutes had passed, he withdrew his semi-softened cock from her body, eliciting a small whimper from Emily. Gently, he arranged them so they were lying together on the wide couch, Emily firmly tucked against his side, his arm wrapped around her.

"I'm sorry," he said with a soft kiss pressed on her forehead.

She froze, wondering if he was regretting what had just happened. "Why?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I wasn't too gentle with you," Hotch murmured in her hair. "I think I bruised you."

She smiled into his shoulder. This was the Hotch she knew and had fallen in love with at some point. A man who would settle for nothing but perfection from himself and felt the need to be the perfect gentleman at all times.

She touched his cheek and kissed his chin. "I don't have any complaints," she murmured. "That was incredible."

"It'll be better next time," he promised as he kissed her forehead again.

She laughed drowsily. "Pretty sure of yourself that there'll be a next time?"

She heard a ghost of laughter in his voice. "Get some rest and you'll see."

An hour later, after a short nap, she did see, and feel and hear as she woke to Hotch's head between her legs and his mouth doing wonderful things to her. Before she could recover from that orgasm he was inside her again, much gentler and slower this time as he thrust in and out of her in a languid pace, stretching out their lovemaking until she was nearly insane. They fell over the edge together again and once more he spilled himself into her willing body.

Their naked bodies tangled together on the couch as Hotch pushed aside a few sweat soaked strands of her hair. He looked lovingly into her eyes and smiled.

"And it'll be even better next time," he said in a drowsy voice as they drifted off to sleep, locked in each other's embrace.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Okay, was the smut that bad? Or are readers generally against smut and skipped that chapter? Anyway, here's another part and we are quickly approaching the end. I hope folks enjoy it and if you get a chance, I'd appreciate it if you leave a review with some feedback. Thanks.**

Ashley walked into the bookstore that was serving as the BAU team's temporary headquarters. She saw that Reid was helping out a customer, but she caught his eye and he nodded towards the back room. He would join her as soon as he finished up with the elderly couple he was currently serving.

She casually walked towards the back and then slipped through a door marked "private". She moved down a short hallway and then through a door at the end of it where their equipment had been set up. Seaver smothered a sigh of resignation when she noted the presence of the other blonde on their team. With a curt nod of hello to JJ, she moved over to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup.

Since she confronted JJ a month ago about the other woman's treatment of Emily, relations have been civil, but chilly between these two agents. The unspoken agreement was that they would stay out of each other's way and everyone would be happy. But as the silence between them stretched out, Ashley rolled her eyes and decided it was ridiculous to be in the same room and not say something to each other, especially since it looked like Reid wasn't coming back there any time soon and she had no idea where Rossi and Morgan were.

"We think Mason isn't the link to the terrorist cells," Seaver blurted out.

JJ looked up from the papers she was reading and arched an eyebrow at the other agent. "We?" she drawled out in a cool tone.

Seaver blushed, but stoutly plunged forward. "Emily and me." She quickly and thoroughly related the information they had stumbled across regarding Nina Mason. As she spoke, Ashley could see the doubtful look leave JJ's face to be replaced by a more thoughtful one. The older blonde nodded her head gently, agreeing with the assessment Emily and Ashley had made.

"We should have Garcia do more digging on Nina Mason," JJ said. "If there's anything to find, she'll find it." She moved to pick up her phone to call the tech, but Seaver stopped her.

"JJ," she began hesitantly. The other woman paused and turned to look at her. Seaver felt emboldened by what she thought was a slight thaw in JJ's attitude and she plunged forward. "Look, I don't understand why you're so upset with Emily. I get you weren't happy you had to lie to everyone about her being alive, but it was necessary to not only protect her, but the rest of the team and Declan Doyle. Why can't you get past it?"

JJ"s face hardened and Seaver mentally kicked herself, knowing she had stepped into things again, but then the older woman's face softened slightly and she sighed. "It's not just about keeping Emily's secret."

"Then what is it?" Ashley pressed. "Garcia has told me how close you two used to be, like sisters. I mean, I've never had a sister but if I found a friend that I could be that close with, that I thought of as my family, that I loved so much, I wouldn't let something like this come between us." She gazed earnestly at JJ. "Maybe you don't understand because you've always had family, but I didn't. It's so hard to lose someone."

"I know exactly how it feels to lose a sister!" JJ snapped, remembering her older sister's suicide. "I know what it feels like to lose someone you love! It's Emily who doesn't and she's the reason I've lost everything!"

Ashley blinked at her. "What are you talking about?"

JJ was trembling now, her cheeks flushed and tears of anger, pain and shame in her eyes. "Will, he left me."

Seaver, though never having met the man, knew Will LaMontaigne was JJ's significant other and the father of her child, Henry. "I'm sorry that's happened, but how is Emily to blame for that?"

"He left because I returned to the BAU." JJ sighed and sat down, the energy suddenly gone from her body. "He said I loved the BAU more than I loved him and Henry. Can you imagine that? That I would put my son second to the Bureau." She didn't add that Will had also said whenever Hotch called, she came running, but she didn't seem to show him that same respect or consideration.

Things had been strained between them for a while and protecting Emily and faking her death had added to that strain. She couldn't confide in Will and that had frustrated him. But the final blow had been her return to the BAU. He had accused her of neglecting her family and being in love with Hotch or someone on the team.

"He took Henry," JJ's voice cracked when she said this. "He took my baby."

Seaver didn't know what to do. She had never been close to JJ, in fact, she didn't even really like the other woman. But it was obvious she was in pain and from what she understood, the turmoil in her personal life had made her take out her pain and frustration on an easy scapegoat, Emily, who was Ashley's friend.

Awkwardly, Seaver patted JJ on her shoulder. "I'm sorry that's happened to you, but you can't lay all this on Emily. These were your choices, JJ."

She felt JJ stiffen underneath her hand. The older woman jerked back and stared coldly at Seaver. "You're just like Hotch and all the others, making excuses for her. _She_ lied. _She_ ran. And I had to clean up the mess. But what happens when she comes back? The Bureau gives her a freaking _medal_! Hotch fawns all over _her_! Garcia hovers over _her_! And you! You think she's some type of hero that you can worship. Emily gets it easy and I lose my family."

"You think this has been easy for Emily?" Seaver asked incredulously. Her earlier trepidation was gone and she was just plain angry now. "My God! You've all been treating her like a leper! She doesn't know what her place is anymore on this team. She feels isolated and alone and still guilty for what happened, even though she was only trying to protect you, your families and an innocent child! Don't go blaming what happened in your personal life on Emily. _You_ decided to come back to the BAU. _Your_ problems with Will probably started before the whole Doyle mess. These were your decisions, your actions. Not Emily's. So JJ, stop acting like an entitled bitch and accept responsibility for your own problems."

With that, Seaver turned on her heel and marched out of the room, knocking aside Reid who happened to be walking in at the same time. He fell against the door and gazed inquisitively at JJ who only stared back at him, her mouth in a thin line.

Ashley continued her angry progress out of the bookstore and was halfway down the block before she realized what she was doing. She forced her self to slow down and take deep breaths as she calmed herself.

She sighed, realizing she had no way to get back to the mansion. When Emily had dropped her off, they had both assumed Reid would give her a ride back, but she didn't want to go back to the bookstore. She still needed to calm down. Seaver started to walk, trying to work off some of her energy and anger. After a while, she looked up and noticed that she wasn't far from the Grand Hotel. She headed there, knowing she could catch a cab, but also deciding that a drink in the luxurious bar there would help her calm down before she returned to the Mason estate.

* * *

><p>He watched as his mouth moved down her elegant neck to suckle at her breasts. Her head was thrown back, arching towards him. As they moved in a dance as old as time, he stood there and watched. The back of the couch blocked most of their bodies out, but from what he could see, their actions were unmistakable.<p>

The whore.

Bernard Mason turned away from the window and numbly walked towards his car. He had driven out to Hicks' house having gotten the address from the country club where they had played golf earlier. Bernard had intended to apologize from some of the things he said today during their game. He thought he had been too hostile with Hicks. Afterall, how could he blame the other man for being attracted to Emma? She was so beautiful. And Hicks hadn't really done anything approaching a move.

But when he started to pull into the long driveway, he had noticed Emma's car there. He parked at the end of the drive and walked quietly up to the house, peaking into the windows. That was when he saw them.

Hicks was screwing Emma and she was enjoying it.

He couldn't hear them, but he could see the pleasure in their faces, how she drew him towards her. When they sank down onto the couch, he could only see Hicks as he moved rhythmically, thrusting himself into Emma's compliant body.

She was like the others, just another whore. Like Brigid. Like Whitney. Like Sarah. Like Jane. Whores all of them.

And Bernard Mason knew what needed to be done with whores.

* * *

><p>Hotch woke up and turned his head to see Emily pulling her hair out from her dress and tying the belt. He propped himself up on one elbow and his other hand ran down her back.<p>

"Stay here," he rumbled out, the nap he had taken making his voice sound lower and gruffer.

She turned to smile at him and leaned down to kiss his lips. He pulled her towards him and she fell gently against his chest. One hand delved under her dress and moved up between her legs. He smiled when he only felt bare flesh and he began to tease her sex, feeling her moisture coat his fingers.

Emily groaned and pulled away. "Stop it," she said in a breathless moan even as she moved against his hand. "You're making it hard to leave."

"That's the point," he said in amusement as he watched pleasure cross her face. His clever fingers moved a little faster. "Besides, you're the one who isn't wearing any underwear."

"Someone tore, oh! them," she murmured.

Hotch hooked his finger and then touched that spot that he knew would shatter her completely. Emily let out a loud whimper and collapsed against him in a boneless heap. Before she knew what was happening, she was straddling him, as he filled her and moved inside of her until she was a sobbing mess once more.

It was another powerful orgasm for her and she vaguely heard Hotch growl her name as he filled her with his seed. She collapsed against him, still in her dress.

They laid there for a few moments, catching their breath. She only stirred when she felt Hotch begin to fumble for the tie of her dress with one hand and the other began to push it off her shoulders.

With great reluctance, she pulled away, shivering slightly when he slipped completely from her body.

"You know I have to get back," she said regretfully. "They'll be waiting and we have an assignment to finish."

He knew she had to go, but he didn't like it. More than ever he wanted her away from Mason. "You don't have to go back. We can find another way to get the information."

Emily smiled but she shook her head. "You know we can't do that. Too much is riding on this and besides, Ashley could be back there already and we can't abandon her." She straightened her dress and then leaned over to give him a quick kiss. He tried to follow her lips but she pulled back with a laugh. "It'll be over soon. We'll leave there tomorrow night after Mason and Nina have gone to the party and Ashley and I have gotten the necessary information." She bent over and began to slip on her shoes.

Hotch watched her, still unable to shake the feeling that he shouldn't let her out of his sight. It was a familiar feeling but it was stronger than ever now. But Emily was right. They needed her to go back in. Just another 36 hours and this miserable mission will be over.

He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. She tilted her head back to lean it against his.

"Tomorrow night," he whispered. "It'll be over and we'll be out of here. Then I'm going to pull you into my arms and never let you go."

Emily was silent and she bit her lip. Hotch could feel the slight tensing of her body. He pulled back to look at her. "Em?"

"Things are really different now, aren't there?" she said quietly.

"Different and better," Hotch acknowledged.

She turned worried eyes toward him. "How are we going to deal with this? With us? What is 'us'? I mean, what's between us?"

"Something that I've wanted to happen for a long time. You?" He looked anxiously at her face.

She looked at him and opened her mouth, but then she closed it again. Hotch felt his gut clench as doubt crept into her face.

"Emily?"

Abruptly she stood up, breaking his embrace. "I really need to get back." She moved quickly away from him and all but bolted out of the house with Hotch calling after her.

He had to stop and find his gym shorts, not wanting to bolt out of the house stark naked. That had cost him precious time. By the time he got outside, her car was pulling away and she was gone.

* * *

><p>Ashley walked into the large lobby of the Grand Hotel and headed straight for the bar located at the end of the corridor to her right. She stood in the doorway for a moment, trying to decide if she wanted a secluded table or a place at the bar. She blinked when she saw a familiar figure sitting there.<p>

Bernard Mason was at the bar, downing a glass of Scotch. From the concerned look the bartender was giving him and the slur she heard in Mason's words as he ordered another, it appeared that he might have been sitting there for a while. She moved further into the bar and took a table near him, but which was obscured by some plants. She probably didn't need to be so cautious as Mason seemed oblivious to everyone and everything but the drinks in front of him and the man serving them.

"She betrayed me," she heard him murmur. "The lying, cheating slut! I trusted her. Took her into my home and she stabbed me in the back!"

Seaver's eyes widened and she felt anxiety flood her body. Had their covers been blown? Did Mason know about them now? Hastily, she slipped out of her chair and moved quickly out of the bar. When she hit the lobby, her fast walk almost became a run and she bolted out of the hotel, hopping into the first cab she found.

"Grady's Bookstore on Fifth! Hurry!"

* * *

><p>Nina Mason's cell phone rang and she frowned at the sound, not happy about the interruption. She didn't recognize the number but answered anyway.<p>

"Nina Mason," she said crisply.

"Ms. Mason? This is George, the bartender at the Grand Hotel's bar. Uh, you might want to come down here, your brother is here and he's, uh, had quite a bit to drink."

"Bernard?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. "Is it really bad?"

"Ma'am, I think so. I don't think it'll be right for me to just put him in a cab. I think he's had some sort of shock or bad news. He keeps going on about a woman and how she's cheated on him or something."

Nina closed her eyes and shivered. It was beginning again. She had to stop it before he went too far. "I'll be right there."

She hurriedly stood and flew out of the study, not bothering to shut down her laptop.

* * *

><p>Emily wanted to smack herself silly for bolting out of Hotch's place without any explanation. She had panicked. It was obvious Hotch wanted a real relationship with her. Aaron Hotchner was an all or nothing man. But what did she want? She had to admit that she had been harboring feelings for him for a while but she had managed to bury them so deeply that she wasn't sure what they were anymore. And she wondered if the whole experience with Doyle and her subsequent resurrection might have changed them. Changed her.<p>

It was all moving too fast and she was confused and uncertain. What did she want? Did she even know anymore?

Emily sighed as she parked her car and looked up at the Mason mansion. She needed to put all thoughts of Hotch and what was going on between them out of her mind for now. There was a mission to be completed and if she was distracted, it could be deadly not only for herself, but Seaver. She got out of her car and walked into the mansion. She cocked her head but could hear nothing. She had noticed both Bernard and Nina's cars were missing. A smile crossed her face. She might not have to wait until tomorrow night.

With swift, sure steps she made her way towards the study. She knocked on the closed door and then eased it open when there was no response. It was empty but she could see Nina's laptop still on the desk. She hurried over to it and to her surprise, it was still on. _Jackpot_, she didn't even have to try to hack into it or call Garcia.

She took off the necklace she had been wearing since the mission started. It was a rectangular shaped locket that concealed a small flash drive. She plugged it into the one of the USB ports. She began to hastily open and scan some of the files on the laptop. She found a wealth of information on the terrorist cells. Nina had been careless in how she stored information and Emily could only think the woman made it this far undetected by sheer dumb luck. With a few keystrokes she began to copy the contents of the laptop onto the flash drive.

Each of her senses were on hyper alert, listening for any sounds that indicated someone was coming towards the study. She had no idea how long Nina or Bernard would be out and she intended to be gone before they returned. She had no desire to spend another night in this house if it wasn't necessary. She would call Ashley and just tell her to sit tight in town. Even if Nina and Bernard did show up, she would make some excuse like picking up 'Amanda' to get out of there.

Her copying done, she put the necklace back on and cautiously left the study. Emily hurried down the hallway and made her way to the entrance of the mansion. She was part way across the foyer when the front door banged open and she was confronted by Nina and Bernard Mason.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, the reason JJ has been such a bitch to Emily is because she hasn't wanted to admit that she was the one who screwed up her relationship with Will. It's always much easier to blame someone else for your own mistakes and JJ is only human and has done that very thing. **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: And here we go. Just maybe about three or four more parts left. Some of you have guessed parts of it. I tried to inject a bit of mystery/case fic in here too to keep it varied. I should warn folks, there's a bit of bad language in this one. If you have a chance, please leave me some feedback. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thanks.**

* * *

><p>He could still smell Emily on himself. After she had bolted from his place, Hotch had dressed, but didn't shower. He wanted her scent to linger on him as long as possible. He quelled the anxiety inside of him, wondering if she was regretting what they had done that afternoon. However, it wasn't something he could dwell on right now. Emily was right. They still had a mission to accomplish.<p>

So he had dressed and driven down to the bookstore to make sure everyone else was up to speed on the latest developments with the Masons.

The bookstore was closed so he went to the back of the store. Each of them, including Seaver and Prentiss, had a key to the back door. He let himself in and made his way to the de facto meeting room.

When he entered, he saw that except for the two undercover agents, everyone else was already there. They called out greetings and his sharp eyes noted immediately that JJ seemed withdrawn and subdued.

"Did Seaver swing by to give you the latest?" he asked.

JJ seemed to rouse herself and informed Hotch that she had briefed the rest of the team on the information provided by the young agent. His eyes contemplated her carefully. He could tell there was something more to the conversation JJ had with Seaver than simply updating her on Nina Mason. However, now was not the time to dig further as he suspected it was unrelated to the case.

Hotch told them about Prentiss' plan to get the information tomorrow night once the Masons were out of the house. The team brightened hearing that this long mission would be winding down so soon. He began to discuss contingency plans if Emily and Ashley ran into difficulties tomorrow night when they heard the back door bang loudly and someone running down the hallway towards the room.

The door to the room they had gathered was flung open and it smacked loudly against the wall. Seaver hurtled into the room and looked wildly at them.

"I think we've got to pull Emily out now!"

Hotch was already moving towards her, his voice cracking out like a whip. "What's happened?" he demanded harshly.

Seaver took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts and then quickly and succinctly related the events at the Grand Hotel bar.

"You think Emily's cover has been blown?" Morgan asked in a worried tone.

"I don't know," Seaver replied as she worried her lip with her teeth. "I just know he's very mad. You didn't hear how he sounded. Mason, he…" She lifted her hands and let them fall helplessly. She couldn't describe it. She just knew that she was very frightened for Emily's safety.

"We have to assume Mason knows Emily isn't who she said she was," Rossi interjected.

Hotch nodded, the uneasiness in his stomach growing with each passing second. Ashley had said Mason's words were "lying, cheating slut". While that might apply had Mason found out about Emily's mission, the words seem more like something a betrayed lover would use. Did Mason somehow know about his and Emily's lovemaking this afternoon?

They were interrupted by the familiar beep that announced that Penelope Garcia was trying to contact them. Morgan leaned over and pressed a button and the tech analyst's worried face appeared on a screen.

"Baby Girl, what's wrong?" Derek asked, immediately picking up on Garcia's agitated state.

"Is that Ashley I see back there?" Garcia craned her head as if she could see around Morgan.

"I'm here, Garcia," Seaver replied as she moved forward into the webcam's range. "What's wrong?"

"So I checked on those old girlfriends of Mason's like you asked," Garcia began. "And I found some of them. But get this, I only found the few blondes he dated. None of the brunettes and judging by pictures in old gossip magazines and newspapers, he's dated some dark beauties in his time."

"What do you mean you've only found the blondes and none of the brunettes?" Hotch asked sharply as he moved closer to the camera too. "You haven't been able to find any trace of them?"

Garcia shook her head vigorously, making the carousel shaped earrings she wore dance around. "No. Nothing. After they date Mason, they appear to up and sell their homes or give up their apartments, quit their jobs, turn off their utilities and stop their mail and just disappear."

"Surely someone has to be looking for them," Rossi interjected.

"That's the thing. These women have few or no family and friends. They were isolated, alone in the world. There was no one to hunt for them once they go missing. And with their affairs neatly wound up, no one like a landlord or a boss goes looking for them either."

"How many women are we talking about, Garcia?" Hotch asked, the feeling of dread in his gut that had been there since the start of this mission growing exponentially larger.

"I had to rely on gossip columns and the society pages to even figure out who his girlfriends were. I'm not sure I've got all of them, but there have been at least five missing brunettes over the last ten years, ever since his wife died." Garcia's image was replaced by photos of five beautiful, dark-haired, dark eyed women. "Jane White, Whitney Clark, Sarah Baker, Alison Ramirez and Ellen Trent."

They stared at the photos and like the earlier photo of Brigid Mason, they all saw the resemblance to Emily Prentiss.

Ashley sucked in her breath sharply. "The background Emily gave Mason on Emma Parker. She told him that besides me, she was alone in the world. That her family and friends had deserted her. She gave him the same background all of these women had. We thought if she was alone, it would trigger Mason's protective instincts and make him draw closer to Emily, but it might be what he's looking for in a victim."

Hotch looked at her sharply as Reid said in disbelief. "So Bernard Mason is a serial killer?"

"We don't know," JJ said trying to interject some reason into the discussion though she was worried too. "It could just be a coincidence."

"A Hell of a coincidence," Rossi shot out gruffly.

Ashley was glaring at JJ. "You just don't care!" she accused the other blonde. "You would probably be glad if Emily was hurt or killed!"

"That's not true!" JJ fired back.

"You have been a real bitch to her, JJ," Morgan interjected.

"I'm just trying to think this through logically," JJ snapped.

"Five women, all brunettes with similar looks who have dated the same man suddenly disappearing without a trace, logic would dictate that man had something to do with their disappearances," Reid replied calmly.

They began to argue, JJ defending herself and trying to point out that if they just stormed Mason's mansion it would jeopardize their mission and they had no proof that Emily was in any danger at the moment.

Ashley saw Hotch quietly slip from the room. The rest of the team were still arguing. With one more look at them, she too left and hurried after her team leader.

She had just managed to slide into the passenger seat of his car before he pulled away from the bookstore. Hotch gave her a hard look.

"You'll need my help to sneak in. I know a back way." She gave him a faint smile. "Besides, I needed a ride back anyway."

"Guys! Guys! GUYS! SHUT UP!"

Garcia's scream nearly put the speakers out of commission, but it had it's affect as Rossi, JJ, Morgan and Reid stopped arguing.

"Hotch and Seaver left," Penelope informed them.

Rossi swore. "He's going to go get Emily."

"Rossi, if Hotch or anyone goes in there guns storming, that could put Emily into more danger," JJ pointed out.

The older agent hesitated. JJ had a valid point. In fact, she had had several valid points. She wasn't trying to stop anyone from helping Emily, but she wanted some plan formulated to minimize the risk to everyone involved, Emily included.

But Hotch had forced their hand. Rossi shook his head. "It's too far gone. Given what Ashley said about Mason's drunken state at the bar, we've got to expect that he's not happy with Emily right now and he'll be taking it out on her. We have to move in now, because I guarantee you, Aaron isn't leaving that house without Emily and Mason is going to give her up without a fight. Literally."

* * *

><p>"Nina, Bernard," Emily greeted the Masons smoothly. She eyed the distance between her and the front door. She was still in her high heeled sandals and the floor of the foyer was slick and slippery, but she still balanced herself on the balls of her feet, ready to bolt past the couple if she saw an opening. None of these thoughts could be read on her face and she looked at them with mild interest. She noted Nina's agitation and Bernard's anger plus she could smell the alcohol on him. Her brow furrowed. "What's wrong?"<p>

"Emma," Nina said in a high, nervous voice. "I think it's best if maybe you left."

"Left?" Emily returned blankly. "What's going on?"

"She's trying to get the whore out of my sight!" Bernard snarled, his words slurring. "I know about you! Liar!"

Emily tried to control her reaction by digging her fingernails into the palm of one hand as she formed a fist. _Shit!_ Was her cover blown somehow?

"Bernard-," she began.

"Shut up! I saw. I _saw_ you! And him! Fucking like two rabbits! I saw you!" Bernard was howling.

Relief washed over Emily. Bernard saw her with Hotch. He just thinks he's being cheated on, not that she's an FBI agent. No, if the Masons knew, Nina wouldn't be trying to get her out of the house. Emily could have beamed at the opportunity just presented to her.

"Nina-," she began, still maintaining her cover but ready to simply walk away.

"Really, Emma, I think it's best if you just go now." Nina looked like she was about to jump out of her skin and Emily regarded her carefully. There was something more going on here. She had never seen Mason drunk before. Maybe he was a nasty drunk and took it out on women around him. Perhaps that was what Nina had been trying to warn Ashley about.

Nina Mason was helping terrorists who were planning to kill innocent people, but if Mason was going to turn violent, Emily couldn't in good conscience leave Nina there alone.

"Nina, maybe you should come with me."

The other woman shook her head vigorously. "I'll be fine. Really, just _go_!"

"No one is going anywhere!" Mason howled. He grabbed Emily's arm and pulled her closer to him. "You're a whore. A filthy, lying whore and I know what needs to be done with you."

Emily felt the searing pain in her side as Mason plunged the knife into her. She stumbled back, away from him and touched her wound. Her hand came up to her face and she stared at the blood on in it in disbelief before she stumbled a few more steps and fell to the floor.

Nina was shrieking and she grabbed Mason, all the while calling out for Max, the security guard.

Emily could only gaze at them with a stunned look as blood continued to flow from her wound. Vaguely, she was aware of Max and several other people running into the room and then she was being lifted and carried up the stairs to her bedroom. In the distance she heard Nina wailing,

"No Bernard! Not again!"


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I know, I know, I keep saying we're getting close and we are! Maybe only about two parts left. If you have a chance, please leave a review and some feedback. It is appreciated. Thanks.**

Seaver directed Hotch to a back road that led up behind the estate. They parked in a dirt lane and then hiked through some dense growth to a spot near the stables. She led the way, sticking to the cover of buildings and various bushes and trees until they came up to the side of the house.

"It's probably an old servants' entrance," she said to Hotch as she quietly opened the door. "When the servants lived outside of the house. No one really uses it any more except maybe as a shortcut to the stables, but Mason is the only one who rides and he usually goes through a different exit." She paused, tilting her head as if trying to hear something and frowned.

"What is it?" Hotch asked in a low voice.

Ashley could hear the sound of many footsteps, heavy ones that she had associated with Max and his security team. She beckoned for Hotch to follow her and they soon came upon a narrow staircase.

"This should lead up to the bedrooms and we'll just be a few feet away from Emily's room." She ran lightly up the steps but suddenly stopped to listen again. Hotch almost ran into her, but managed to catch himself.

"Seaver?"

"Too many footsteps," she replied. "This house is pretty quiet. Security is never running around and you really don't see them in the house too much. And there's never this many of them inside." She rolled her shoulders uneasily and glanced at the older agent. "I think something is seriously wrong."

Hotch could feel his gut clench even tighter and he had to fight off the urge to just bolt up the stairs and find Emily. They needed to be calm and cautious. _She_ needed him to be that way. He simply prodded Seaver gently with a hand to her back and she began to move again.

As she promised, the door they opened led to the far end of the second floor hallway. Silently she pointed at another door a few feet away and mouthed, "Emily's".

Hotch moved forward, every sense on constant alert, but all the activity seemed to be happening on the floor below. He tried the doorknob and it turned easily in his hand.

He poked his head into the room and noticed a figure lying on the bed. "Emily?" he whispered softly.

There was no response and he stepped quickly inside with Seaver on his heels. As she watched from the doorway, Hotch moved towards the bed.

"Emily?" he repeated.

He heard a small moan and immediately dropped to her side. "Em? Sweetheart, what is it?" He could see her face now and it was pale and contorted in pain. Her hand was pressed against her side and that's when he saw the blood.

Hotch let out a loud exclamation, making Seaver jump and spin around to see what had caused such a reaction.

"Get me a towel!" he barked at the young agent.

Not questioning him, she scurried into the bathroom and came back with several towels. When she came near the bed, she saw the blood too and let out a frightened gasp. She started to move forward to help, but Hotch barked at her.

"Keep watch at the door!" he snarled as he snatched the snowy white towels from her nerveless fingers. His voice dropped into a gentle tone as he turned back to Emily and said. "Honey, you have to let me see so I can help you. Come on, move your hand a little."

Prentiss whimpered, but did as she was asked and Hotch sucked in his breath. He could tell she had lost a lot of blood. He tried to give her a reassuring smile and pressed the towel against the wound.

"He-, he did-," she struggled to say.

"Shhh," Hotch soothed her. "It's okay. You can tell me later. First thing we need to do is get you fixed up. Then you can tell me everything as we're sitting before a beautiful sunset and I'm holding you in my arms."

Ashley Seaver stood watch and guard by the door, keeping an eye out while also listening to the hushed conversation between the man and the dying woman behind her. _How had everything gone so wrong?_ she asked herself as she bit her lip, willing herself not to cry right now. She needed to be as sharp and collected as possible if any of them hoped to get out of this alive.

If only they had acted faster, if she had spoken up sooner. But she was still unsure about herself and what her position on the team was, especially after her confrontation with JJ last month. The delay would likely cost Emily her life and for that, Ashley would never forgive herself.

"Hang on, Em," Hotch said quietly as he brushed back a strand of raven hair from her perspiration damped forehead, even as the other applied pressure to the bloody wound on her side. "I'm getting you out of here."

_How?_ Ashley wondered. It was just the two of them and an incapacitated Prentiss. Hotch would likely have to carry Emily, leaving only Ashley as the only one defending them. She couldn't shoot their way out of here, Mason had too many henchmen milling about. Sneak out? It was hard enough when she and Hotch sneaked in, now with a weakened Prentiss who couldn't negotiate some of the trickier spots, it would be impossible.

"No," Emily said weakly. "You and Ashley go while you can. Take the flash drive. It has all of the information on the terrorist cells." She tried to remove the cleverly concealed flash drive disguised as a locket from around her neck, but she was too weak and Hotch's hand stopped her.

"Hold onto it," he ordered her gently. "Keep it safe and you can give it to the Bureau yourself."

She smiled wanly at him. "I'm not sure if I can last that long," she whispered.

"Don't say that!" he said in a fierce and angry voice that didn't quite cover up the note of fear. "I'm getting you out of here and you'll be treated and you'll get better. Then we'll finish what we started."

"Aaron," she said softly, rapidly fading. "It was over before it begun. But know it did mean something to me, no matter how we left things." Her fingers traced his lips. "I think I've always been in love with you."

"This is my fault," he said in a broken voice. "I should have never allowed you to take this assignment."

"No choice," her voice was growing weaker. "But it finally brought us together. For that, I'm grateful."

Seaver glanced nervously back at the couple. Though she could only see Hotch's face in profile, she could still see that determined, hard look on his face and heard him declare in an angry voice:

"Don't you dare give up now, Emily. I'm getting us all out of here."

He shot a look at Ashley. "Seaver, get prepared to cover us."

The young blonde looked once more out in the hallway and then back at her supervisor. "Hotch," she hissed. "We'll never make it the way we came in. Not with Prentiss injured like that."

He knew she was right. Emily had lost too much blood and could barely move. He would have to carry her. And presuming they made it down the narrow staircase that barely allowed them to get through, nevermind allowing him to pass through while carrying Emily, they still had a lot of terrain to cover. Moving over that rough ground and then hiking the quarter of a mile through dense growth to get to their car, Emily could easily bleed out.

"Where's your car parked?" he asked.

"Down in the drive, out front."

"Got your keys?"

She fished them out of her jeans pocket and showed them to him.

Hotch nodded and then looked back at Emily who was watching him through glassy eyes. He smiled reassuringly at her. "Hang on, Em, I'll get us out of here. Now, I'm going to pick you up, but you need to keep the pressure on that wound. This might hurt, I'm sorry about that, Baby, but it's the only way."

She swallowed hard and nodded once. Carefully, he bent over and scooped her up in his arms. He heard her sharp gasp, but then she buried her face into the crook of his neck even as she managed to throw one arm around his shoulders. His heart nearly broke when he felt her tears on the skin of his neck.

"I'm sorry this is hurting you, Em," he said in a slightly broken voice. "But we're going to get you to a hospital." He turned to Seaver and his entire demeanor changed. He went instantaneously from caring lover to furious, avenging knight.

"We're going through the front door. Anyone gets in our way, shoot them."

Seaver gaped at him. He could not be serious. How were they going to make it to the front door with all of Mason's men running about? It was suicide.

"Seaver," Hotch said sharply. "We will be okay. We will get out of here."

She stood there, pinned by his intense stare, but suddenly a sense of calmness seemed to settle over her. As her gaze locked with Hotch, more than seeing or hearing, she literally _felt_ his reassurance and confidence. At that moment, she understood why such strong willed individuals pledged their loyalty and belief in this man. It wasn't just his nobility, his intellect, his sense of justice. Those were definitely factors. It was more that you simply believed what this man said because he unfailingly believed it too. There was no doubts or waffling or second guessing in Aaron Hotchner. When he believed he believed wholeheartedly and he made you feel that way too. He never did anything part way, and nor were his beliefs vague and temporary.

If Aaron Hotchner believed they would get out of this, they definitely were going to. And if he believed it, Ashley Seaver realized she believed it too.

Holding her gun in a firmer grip, she nodded her head sharply once and then opened the door. She made sure the hallway was clear and then led the way to the staircase that ended in the foyer before the front door.

Nina Mason was agitatedly speaking to her brother who sat in a chair, his head in his hands as one security guard mopped up what Hotch and Ashley could now see was Emily's blood as Max, the head of security stood by. Max's head suddenly jerked up and he saw them partway down the staircase.

"Ma'am!" he barked out.

Nina looked up startled and turned her head to see what had caught Max's attention. "What's going on?"

"What does it look like?" Seaver snapped. "We're taking Emily to a hospital."

"Emily?" Nina blinked. "Her name isn't Emma?" She finally focused in on the gun in Ashley's hand. Her face hardened. "Who are you people?"

"Federal agents and you would be wise to get out of our way so we can get this woman medical attention," Hotch commanded as he continued to walk slowly and deliberately down the stairs.

"Max, stop them!" Nina ordered.

Even as the large man moved forward, Ashley's gun came up and she aimed it at his torso.

"Don't even think about it," she snapped.

Max stopped but then he saw a few more of his security men coming into the foyer, all of them armed. He smiled wolfishly at Seaver.

"Emily? She's not an Emma," Mason bellowed out as he lurched out of his chair and over to the foot of the staircase. "I knew it! She's just a hired whore who spreads her legs for anyone! A whore!"

Hotch couldn't do much more but coldly stare at Mason with the most frightening, deadly expression anyone had seen before and that was powerful enough to even cut through some of the other man's drunken fog. Mason reeled back slightly almost as if Hotch had physically pushed him.

The agent's voice was low and even, but they could hear the fury and passion beneath it.

"If I wasn't holding her now, I would be tearing you limb from _fucking_ limb!"

Ashley risked a surprise glance over her shoulder at her supervisor never having heard the man curse before, let alone dropping _that_ word. Thinking her distracted, Max started to move forward, but she wheeled back around and pointed her gun at Nina.

"One move and I kill her."

That made the security men pause and Nina to pale. Then she rallied. "Looks like we have a standoff here, but tell me, how long do you think your friend is going to last? She's been bleeding a while and as you can see," she gestured around her towards the blood streaked floor. "She's been bleeding profusely."

Seaver wavered, but Hotch continued to move slowly down, coming level with her where he paused.

Before they had a chance to worry about their next move, something hit the front door with a loud crash. Startled, everyone jumped and simply stared as part of the wood splintered. Two more blows and the door fell open and inwards and the foyer was suddenly swarming with local law enforcement and four FBI agents.

Mason's men were already dropping their weapons and raising their hands and Hotch began to run down the rest of the stairs with Seaver close on his heels. Rossi, assessing the situation in one glance, tossed a set of car keys towards the blonde agent.

"It's the one closest to the entrance," Rossi called out. He had noticed Ashley's car in the drive, but not Hotch's and deduced that they had parked somewhere else. Besides the fact that Seaver's car was blocked in by the LEO's vehicles, Rossi knew it would be better for them to take one of the larger, standard issue Bureau trucks. They were more powerful cars and they had sirens. Judging by Emily's unconscious state and the blood Rossi could see on the floor and on Hotch's and Emily's clothes and hands, they would need all the power and speed to get her to a hospital in time.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I had some dental work done today so I'm in a bit of a Vicodin-induced haze. But I have to say, yeah for Vicodin! Whoo hoo! Anyway, here's the next part and if people would provide some feedback, it would be appreciated.**

Vaguely Hotch remembered washing his hands in the men's room. He watched as the water turned to pink and the traces of Emily's blood swirled down the drain. He then began to scrub and after a while the water turned pink again as he scrubbed so hard, his cuticles began to bleed. That was when he knew he had to stop.

He sat next to Seaver in the waiting room, neither one speaking, just waiting. The others were still at the Mason estate and then they would move towards the local law enforcement station house where they will spend many hours trying to sort out not only Nina Mason's terrorist connections, but Mason's missing girlfriends. Otherwise, they would be here and it would be just like Boston all over again. All of them waiting at the hospital as Emily fought for her life.

Hotch didn't pace. He didn't speak. He merely stared at the opposite wall opposite, his hands resting on his knees. A couple of times Seaver glanced over to him, wondering if she should offer him some words of comfort and desperate to hear some from him. She blamed herself. Her primary duty was to be Emily's back-up on this assignment and where was she? Back in town arguing with JJ. She had failed her partner. Ashley's head began to drop in shame. Maybe there's a reason Hotch wasn't talking to her. She had failed to protect Emily and if her guess about his feelings for the brunette was right, Hotch cared very deeply for the woman. He probably blamed her for Emily's injuries.

She suddenly felt a warm hand over the one she had in her lap. Seaver looked up and though Hotch was still staring at the opposite wall, one of his hands had moved over to cover hers. He gave her a comforting squeeze and the feeling of loneliness and the burden of guilt lightened. She was not alone in this.

And neither was Emily.

When a nurse came out about an hour later, they were both immediately on their feet.

"Emily?" Hotch asked in his deep, strong voice with no hint of the fear and anxiety tearing him apart at that moment.

"Still in surgery," the nurse said kindly. She had in her hands Emily's clothing and jewelry, including the locket. "I thought you might need these to be processed." Her eyes took on a sad look. "We won't be able to do a rape kit until after the surgery."

Hotch went absolutely still as Seaver sucked in a shocked breath.

"She was raped?" he asked faintly. Rage was slowly building in him.

"We found signs of possible sexual assault, though her more immediate injury, the knife wound is the priority. But there was some bruising around her thighs and hips, evidence of semen and she wasn't wearing any underwear."

Ashley's eyes began to tear up and she held a hand to her mouth. Poor Emily! After all this, and to be sexually assault as well. She looked at Hotch, knowing this must be killing him to hear, but then stopped and stared at him. Her stoic Unit Chief was…blushing.

"Aside from that, was there any other evidence of sexual assault? Bruises on other parts of her body, scratches, that sort of thing?" Hotch asked. Seaver tilted her head when she heard the faintest trace of embarrassment in his voice.

"No," the nurse shook her head. "We haven't done a thorough examination, obviously, but the lack of underwear, the bruises, the semen, it was enough to send a flag and we couldn't be certain we would be able to preserve the physical evidence on her body, her knife wound being the most pressing issue. But we knew you would likely want to prosecute."

Hotch cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Uh, if those are the only signs you see, then it's unlikely Agent Prentiss was raped. She would have more defensive wounds."

"But how do you?" the nurse frowned. "I agree that the signs could be she had consensual sex with someone fairly recently, but how would you-" Her voice trailed off as realization dawned on her and Hotch turned even redder.

Seaver was a few seconds behind the nurse but even she eventually got it and her eyes grew round as her head snapped to look at her supervisor. Her jaw fell open and Hotch pointedly ignored her.

"I see," the nurse cleared her throat. "Then perhaps her affects, at the least the dress, are less important."

"We will need the jewelry," Hotch replied, holding out his hands. He looked at the torn and blood-stained dress distastefully. "But I agree the dress can be disposed of." He also reached out for the high heeled sandals. He had fond memories of Emily in those shoes.

The nurse nodded and handed over the requested items and then indicated she would dispose of the dress. She walked away, leaving the two agents alone again.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Hotch continued to stare at the items in his hands. Emily's high heeled sandals, a bracelet, earrings, and the locket. He finally turned to Seaver, and not acknowledging at all the inadvertent revelation that he had been intimate with Prentiss, simply handed the locket over to the young agent. "Get that back to the police station and make sure JJ gets the information over to Counter Terrorism. And let's hope they don't screw up again since this is _accurate_ information."

"Hotch!" she protested. "I can't leave until I know Emily is going to be okay!"

"Seaver, Ashley, I'll be here and I'll let you know the minute I know something. But we still have a potential terrorist attack to prevent plus a possible serial killer to investigate. You're needed at the station."

She shook her head vigorously, knowing she was defying her superior. "No! No, Hotch! I don't want to go!"

"Seaver," he was running out of patience.

"Not until I know she's okay." She bit her lip and finally said. "I wasn't there to watch her back," she whispered brokenly. "I didn't do my job and now-"

His irritation faded when he realized why Seaver, the most compliant agent on his team, was fighting him on this. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"You didn't fail her, Ashley," he said in a kind tone. "In fact, you helped save her by finding out that Mason was exhibiting dangerous behavior and then pushing us to pull Emily out immediately. And if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have been able to get into the house so quickly and easily."

"But she got stabbed and my job was to be there as her back-up," the young agent whispered brokenly. "And I wasn't."

"But you were," Hotch insisted. "Having someone's back doesn't mean standing there with a gun. You got her the help that was needed. We accomplished our mission."

"At what price?" she demanded. "She's hurt again. We were late, _again_, Hotch. Is it any wonder she doesn't trust this team to have her back?"

"Did she say that to you?" he asked quickly.

"No, but don't you think she feels that? Wouldn't you?"

"None of us handled Emily's return well, including myself." He gave her a ghost of a smile. "Except for you."

"I was less invested," she muttered. "I didn't know her as long."

"No, you were invested as much as anyone," Hotch corrected her. "You were just open enough to see her side of things."

"Does it matter?" Ashley asked dully. "Is anything going to change? Or are we going to go back to how things were before this mission."

He gave her a tight smile, but she detected a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. "No, Seaver, things won't be the same. I won't let it. We'll be moving forward. With Emily. She's going to be alright. Now, I'm serious, I need you to go to the police station and connect with the others so we can wrap things up. I'll wait here for Emily. She's going to be okay."

She wanted to protest some more, but Hotch wasn't having any of it. Hotch gently, but firmly pushed her towards the door as he slipped the flash drive into her hand. She had no choice but to go, but she did turn back once to look at him and saw that Hotch had resumed his seat, but this time, instead of staring at the wall, he looked down at the pair of high heeled sandals cradled in his hands.

For the first time in a while, Ashley felt the stirrings of a smile and the corners of her lips tilted upwards.

_Prince Charming waiting for his Cinderella_, she thought.

* * *

><p>It was a sort of controlled chaos in the police station when Seaver entered. She looked around and spotted Reid and JJ. She marched over and handed the blonde the flash drive.<p>

"Emily managed to download the information on the terrorist cells," she said in a clipped voice. "It's all on there." She turned to go find Rossi and Morgan to report in, but JJ called out to her.

"How's-, how's Emily?" the older blonde asked in a soft, hesitant voice.

It would have been easy for Seaver to snap at JJ and she was tempted to, but she remembered that small glimmer of hope in Hotch's eye and knew that if they were going to get to the point where things would get better, she could not contribute in making them worse with her own accusations and hostility.

Seaver took a deep breath before replying. "She was still in surgery when I left. Hotch said he would let us know the second there was news." She nodded at the flash drive. "He wanted to make sure these cases were wrapped up tight and that we stop whatever was being planned by the terrorist cells."

Reid nodded. "We have Nina Mason's laptop, but it's password protected and would have taken some time to hack into it. The flash drive will make things much easier."

"Where are Morgan and Rossi?" the young agent asked as she looked around.

"Morgan has Nina Mason and Rossi is talking to Bernard Mason." JJ pointed out the hallway that led to the interrogation rooms.

It was Bernard Mason Seaver was interested in and she headed for the observation room after questioning a LEO on where she needed to go. She slipped into the small, dark room that was only occupied by two other LEOs. They looked at her curiously for a moment and then noted the badge clipped to her waistband. One nodded his head in acknowledgement and then went back to observing David Rossi push Bernard Mason those last few steps to guarantee all the horrible deeds and thoughts the other man ever had was laid bare before them all.

"So you thought Emma was cheating on you?" Rossi asked.

"I know she was! I saw her! The slut! The whore! They're all whores!" Bernard ranted.

"You mean these women were whores?" the FBI agent inquired as he pulled out photos of five different brunettes from the folder before him and laid them out before Mason.

The suspect nodded. "Whores! They were all whores! Just like her. Never faithful to a man. Willing to spread their legs for anyone."

"And you couldn't have them be that way. To be whores."

Bernard shook his head vigorously. "Absolutely not! I'm a Mason. No one cheats on us!" He leaned forward towards Rossi, but not too far, the manacles that tethered him to the stout rings in the floor allowing little movement. "They have to be punished!"

"And how do you punish them?"

"I let them know who's in total control. I hold their lives in my hands, but the stupid bitches never realize or understand that until it's too late. They figure it out, right before that moment they die. I see that in their eyes. I see that recognition that they've made a mistake betraying me. That moment before death they're actually smart."

"Anyone else besides these five women and Emma?"

His handsome face twisted into a grotesque mask. "That Queen Whore, Brigid, my wife."

Rossi continued his questioning, skillfully drawing out more information and confession to eight murders. There were two more victims they hadn't been aware of until Mason told him.

As Rossi rose to leave the room, Mason said almost off-handedly.

"Emma was the stupidest one. I actually caught her cheating." This made Rossi pause and he turned around to look at Mason. "I saw her _fucking_ that bastard Hicks at his house. Like two animals. She's a bigger whore than Brigid ever was."

Seaver stifled a gasp as she listened to Mason. Now Rossi would know about Hotch and Emily. She had no intention of saying anything but she didn't know about the older profiler. Team dynamics and relations had been so complicated, throwing in a romance between the leader and a subordinate, it could just make things worse.

Rossi gave Mason a hard look, but said nothing and simply left the room. A few seconds later, he entered the observation room and if he was surprised to see Ashley, he didn't show it. He simply nodded at the LEOs who were handling the recording of the interview and went over a few details with them. When he was done, he motioned Seaver to follow him.

"I guess you heard that last bit," Rossi said as they started towards the other interview room where Morgan was dealing with Nina Mason.

Seaver nodded her head, but remained silent.

"I don't think there's a need to include that detail in the final reports. We know Mason snapped because of some perceived betrayal by Emily, but he likely would have snapped at some point anyway. It's just how he's wired."

She sent him a sidelong glance. "And you're…okay with the news?"

Rossi shrugged. "None of my business. It might even help in some strange way with how out of synch the team has been. Besides, if it makes them both happy, who am I to stand in the way of that?"

Ashley gave him a small smile and then felt her phone began to vibrate. She unclipped it from her waistband and answered it. "Hotch? Yeah? That's great! Okay, I'll let them know. Tomorrow morning? That's wonderful. I can come by tonight. Are you sure? You don't want me to bring you anything? Okay. We'll see you tomorrow morning then." She disconnected the call and looked at Rossi who was smiling back at her, having deduced the news. "She made it out of surgery! They said Emily is going to be fine!" She impulsively hugged the older man.

Rossi let out a small puff of air that passed as a laugh and hugged the young woman back. Yes, things were beginning to look up for the BAU team.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Second to the last part. I am bound and determined to finish this story this weekend and then get back to "Reckoning" and "A Rose By Any Other Name". Thank you all for your patience and sticking around. I hope folks have been enjoying this.**

He hadn't slept since the small naps he managed to catch between their lovemaking yesterday afternoon. But Aaron Hotchner was not tired. In fact, he felt oddly invigorated. Between the good news that Emily would make a full recovery, though they wanted to keep her in the hospital for an additional two days before she could travel back with them, and what Emily had whispered to him yesterday, Hotch realized he was feeling something he had not felt in a long time.

Hope.

Hope for a future. Hope for a life not spent alone. Hope for something beyond just catching serial killers. Hope that he could have the love of an incredible woman.

He loved Jack more than anything or anyone else in the world, but to pin all his wishes and hopes on the boy was too much to ask of him. Right now, it was okay, for the child was too young, but as he grew older, Hotch knew he could grow to resent his father for clinging to him and burdening him with the need to live two lives.

But that needn't be his future for Hotch had found someone with whom he could truly share everything. He had found Emily. He had heard her say she loved him, for quite a while too. He reached out and gently took her hand as he watched her sleep. He had almost lost her before they had a chance to begin. He would not let that happen again.

Gently he brushed some hair back from her face and leaned close to her. "Hey, Em," he said softly. "I didn't have a chance to tell you before, but I love you too." He leaned forward to place a chaste, sweet kiss on her forehead and allowed his lips to linger on her cool, soft skin.

He heard someone clearing her throat in the doorway, but Hotch did not pull back guiltily. There was nothing to be ashamed about in his feelings for Emily Prentiss. The Bureau, the rest of the team, anyone who dared to think their opinions mattered they could all go screw themselves. Aaron Hotchner was not going to hide his love for this extraordinary woman and pity the poor fool who said anything but congratulations.

"Hotch?" JJ inquired softly. "May I come in?"

Reluctantly, he pulled his lips from Emily's fragrant skin. He took a moment to gather himself before turning around. JJ was very dear to him, but he could not excuse her behavior towards Emily the last few months nor would he tolerate it anymore. He twisted around and stared intently at his loyal right hand woman.

"JJ," he said in a low tone. "She's been through enough. I won't have Emily sneered at nor brow beaten."

He noted with interest that JJ was blushing. Maybe the blonde had turned a corner where Emily was concerned and was here to make amends.

"I'm not here to fight, Hotch. I'm here to apologize and see if there's anything I can do for her," JJ said, confirming his suspicions.

Hotch hesitated. He was simply loathed to be separated from Emily in any way, but he also felt a little wary of how JJ would act. There had just been so much animosity.

"You should get a change of clothes and something to eat, Hotch," JJ continued, sensing his reluctance. She smiled sadly, realizing he was suspicious of her and determined that Emily not have any added stress or angst. "I swear, I won't say anything to upset her and besides, I think Ashley will be here soon. And you know she won't stand for me browbeating Emily."

Hotch smiled faintly. That was true, but how sad was it that their newest, youngest agent who knew Emily the shortest amount of time would be the one most loyal to her? He took one more look at the sleeping woman and then nodded. "I'll be gone for a few hours. I do want to check in with the LEO's and Dave to see how things are progressing. They said Emily can be released and ready to travel in two days. I'd like us to be ready by then too, if not sooner." He turned back to the bed and placed a gentle kiss on Emily's mouth and stroked her cheek lovingly. When he turned back around, JJ smiled at him faintly, but didn't seem surprised by his overt show of affection. He nodded his head and left the room.

JJ waited until the door swung softly shut behind him before she took the chair Hotch had vacated. For a few minutes, she simply sat there staring at the woman whom she had loved like a sister and wondered how things had gotten to this point. While it would have been easy to blame Emily for it entirely, JJ knew it was time to accept some of that responsibility. She had laid the blame for her failed relationship entirely on the other woman because it was easier than admitting that it was she who failed.

She realized in the past few years, she had developed a feeling of smug superiority over her fellow BAU team members where her personal life was concerned. Did she not have it all? A loving and supportive partner and a beautiful child? Will never complained about her running off at a moment's notice or working long hours. He was always there, his job as a consultant for a security firm allowed for him to have flexible hours. Not even Hotch was able to save his marriage, but she, JJ, seemed to be handling everything beautifully.

Then she moved over to the State Department and her hours became more regular. Sure she still traveled and wasn't home some nights, but she didn't have as unpredictable of a schedule as she did with the BAU. Will began to realize what they had been missing and enjoyed all the extra time he and Henry were spending with her. He had even talked about getting married and having another child.

And then she had chucked it all away to be back at the BAU and that was what sent Will out the door, taking their son with him.

So she had picked on the easiest person to blame, the person everyone else was kicking around anyway. Emily.

JJ's eyes filled with tears. Really, what kind of person did that make her? _A bully_, she thought. She was no better than some of the bullies they've come across in cases. People she had looked down upon and berated for their cruel and horrible behavior. People, who when they were victims of the person they tormented, a part of her believed they deserved it. She was now one of those people. JJ reached out to gently touch Emily's hand before she clasped it.

"I'm so sorry, Em," she sobbed softly. "I'm so sorry." And she poured her heart out to an unconscious Emily Prentiss.

* * *

><p>The next two days were a bit of a jumbled blurb for Emily. She was vaguely aware of the team visiting her and faces of regret and shame. The only person she seemed to be able to focus on was Hotch. His solid, warm presence comforted and relaxed her and he relished in the fact that he had such an affect on her. Because her recovery was slower than anticipated, the hospital held her an additional two days which worked out better for the investigation as there were still many things to do and the extra days allowed them to complete their work thoroughly and at a more leisurely pace. Since they weren't leaving until Emily was cleared to travel, they didn't have rush to complete their work and could spend more time with her in the hospital.<p>

When she was finally more lucid, she realized there was a shift in their attitudes towards her. They had warmed up, been more considerate and had been contrite. Each had apologized for their behavior, and in the cases of Rossi and Reid, wasn't really warranted. She in turn had been blunt and honest. It was all still too raw and while she appreciated the gesture, she just needed some space and time. They had to be satisfied with that even though she saw JJ and Morgan's faces fall a little.

"They are truly sorry," Hotch said from the door. He was watching Emily simply staring up at the ceiling as she lay on her back.

"I know," she replied. "But like I told them, everything is still too raw right now and, geez, Hotch, I'm just too tired and sore. I just want to rest for a while and then get my head screwed on straight before I do anything else."

"Does that anything else include me?" he said quietly as he came to her bed and sat down on it. He placed his arms on either side of her, effectively keeping her trapped between them.

She didn't look at him, but continued to stare up at the ceiling until he ran a finger down one of her cheeks. The gentle movement sent a blaze of warmth along her skin and she cursed how he could so easily elicit a physical of response from her body with just a simple touch. She looked at him with an irritated glare.

He grinned at her, suspecting that his simple physical contact had an affect on Emily. He could see how her cheeks flushed and through the thin hospital gown, how her nipples had stiffened. It appeared he had as strong of an affect on her as she did on him. Hotch shifted on the bed slightly to accommodate the Emily affect on his body.

She saw him move and smirked right back at him. She could see his body changes too.

"Hotch-," she began before he cut her off by kissing her.

Instantly, she responded by cradling his face between her hands and dueling with his tongue. She felt one of his hands go to her chest. Tenderly, he massaged her breast, causing her body to arch towards him when she felt his touch. Her movement sent a flash of pain through her and she broke away from the kiss to hiss sharply.

Hotch was immediately contrite and stroked her hair, letting her breath through the pain as it slowly subsided.

They looked at each other ruefully. "I guess it is a little too soon for anything strenuous," he said with a quirk of his lips.

"Another reason I need some time and space," Emily murmured as he brushed his lips over her cheek. She sighed as he continued to trail his lips softly over her skin. "Hotch," she breathed out. "Please."

He sat back with a resigned sigh. "Right. Time and space. I can give you the time, because I know you want to sort things out, but the space is non-negotiable, Emily. You're going to need someone to take care of you when we're back in Virginia. I want you to come stay with Jack and me."

"Hotch!" she protested as she struggled to sit up. He helped her prop some pillows behind her. "How is that giving me space if I'm staying with you? And don't you think me being there might be confusing to Jack? We haven't decided where we're going with," she waved her hand back and forth between them, "this."

"Oh, I know where it's going, Emily," he replied easily and confidentially. "I vowed never to let you go and you know I always keep my promises."

"Well, I don't know what I was thinking believing I had a say in anything," she shot back sarcastically. "I guess you've already got my apartment packed up and on the market."

"Not yet," he said in a teasing voice. His look turned serious. "Emily, I understand you need time. A lot has happened and you need to process it. But know this, I'm not going anywhere and I know exactly what I want. I want you. I want it all, Em. And when you're ready for it, I'll be right here, waiting for you."

_God, the man was infuriating_, Emily thought affectionately as she felt tears well up in her eyes. As much as she wanted to fall into his arms right then and there, have him take her away back to his place where she would live happily ever after with him and his adorable son, Emily knew that because he was such a wonderful man, that she needed to be as sure and as committed as he was. And right now, she couldn't say that she was. She had been on too much of a rollercoaster the last few months and now with this injury, her jumbled emotions not only where Hotch was concerned but with the rest of the team, she couldn't commit to him when she was such a mess. She couldn't make him go through that.

She looked at him pleadingly, hoping he would understand and he simply smiled gently at her. Hotch leaned forward and kissed her sweetly on the mouth before he touched his forehead to hers. One hand came up to bury itself in her hair and hold her to him as he said, "I understand. And I know you'll get there too, Emily and when you do, we'll be together and nothing will ever tear us apart."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Here it is, the last part. I hope folks have enjoyed this story. It went on much longer than I thought it would and to be honest, my original outline probably would have made this story even longer. I had fun with this challenge and I hope people enjoyed reading it. Now that it's completely, I also hope that all those folks who have signed up for alerts will take a moment to leave me some feedback. It does help and is appreciated it. Thank you again for sticking with this story.**

On the plane ride back, even if anyone had missed the signs of Hotch and Emily's new relationship while at the hospital, they couldn't ignore it now. As soon as they boarded, Emily almost fell immediately asleep, exhausted by the ride to the airport as her still healing body protested all the activity she had partaken of that day. Having to be seated when they took off, she fell asleep in her chair and Hotch didn't want to wake her by moving her to one of the couches. The chair also restricted her movements somewhat and she would be less likely to aggravate her wound. So he had let her sleep in her chair, making sure he was seated next to her. As her head dropped over onto his shoulder, he had tenderly kissed her hair and tucked her blanket more securely around her before he too closed his eyes and took a nap. Eventually, in their sleep, their hands somehow found each other, their fingers twining together and they held hands as they continued to sleep.

All this was observed by their teammates. Some were happy and amused for the couple like Rossi and Seaver. Reid was simply surprised. Morgan couldn't help but feel a little put out by these new developments. While relations with Emily had been strained, he always felt that if she was to go to anyone to confide in or ask for help, it would be him. But now with this relationship with Hotch, Derek felt a little replaced. She had no reason to seek him out now, to let him play the hero, to be her confidant, she would have Hotch. And that hurt a little, to know he was a little less important in Emily Prentiss' life.

JJ watched the sleeping couple with a bit of rueful jealousy for what they seemed to have, something she had lost when Will walked out of her life. No, if she was to be honest with herself, she probably lost it when she just assumed he would always be there no matter what she did, including deciding to return to the BAU without discussing it with him first. She looked away from Hotch and Emily to stare out the window. It was time to stop blaming others for her troubles. She needed to take control of her life and re-assess and reevaluate what was truly important to her.

When they landed, Emily was still a little groggy from the combination of her nap and the medication she was still on. Hotch gently helped her into an SUV and Seaver rode with them. He had reluctantly agreed that Emily would be staying at her place during her recovery and Ashley had offered to stay with her for those first few days until she was well enough to be on her own. It wasn't what Hotch wanted, but he had agreed to give Emily some time and space.

After helping Emily to her apartment and getting her settled into her bed, Hotch still lingered, even though the brunette had mumbled a "goodbye" and then promptly turned over and fell asleep. He stood there in her bedroom, a room he had never been in before, and simply watched the woman who had stolen his heart sleep.

"Sir, Hotch," Ashley called out softly though he heard the faintest trace of amusement in her voice. "I think we should let her get some sleep."

Hotch nodded and with a kiss on Emily's head, he reluctantly left the bedroom. Out in the living room, he relentlessly went through all the information he felt Seaver needed to know. If anything happened, she was to call him immediately. She was not to leave Emily alone, no matter what the woman said. If she needed a break, she was to check with him first to see if he could make it over and if for some reason, he could not, she was to call Garcia or Rossi. He made sure, again, that she had the phone numbers for Emily's doctors, both her personal ones and the ones who had treated her in the Hamptons, in case they needed to be contacted.

"I think I can handle it, sir," Seaver told him solemnly, though her eyes twinkled.

Hotch stopped himself, realizing he was sounding like an over-anxious parent leaving his child alone with a sitter for the first time. He looked sheepishly at Seaver and nodded his head before he took his leave.

"Hotch gone?"

Ashley turned around from the stove which she was about to turn on to heat up some water for tea. Emily was standing there, in her bathrobe looking a little more alert, but still with traces of fatigue in her face.

"Just left," Seaver replied. "I thought you were sleeping?"

"I was, but I woke up thirsty," the other woman said as she slipped onto one of the barstools that flanked the granite counter between her kitchen and living room. "Are you making tea?"

Seaver nodded and turned on the burner. She retrieved two mugs and went to the cabinet where she had noted earlier Emily stored her tea. "What kind are you in the mood for?"

"I have some Hot Cinnamon Spice tea in there."

"Sounds good," Ashley said as she fished out the box.

They remained silent as the water began to boil and it wasn't until Seaver had filled their mugs with hot water and the tea began to steep that she finally spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Emily frowned. "For what?"

"My assignment was to be your back up, and I wasn't there when you needed me the most." The younger agent bit her lip. "I'm sorry I screwed up."

Emily's face softened and she silently began to dip her tea bag in and out of the hot water. "You didn't screw up, Ashley. You had my back."

"Oh, you mean by getting Hotch there? Well, we were kinda late so a lot of help that was." She wasn't moved by Hotch's words a few days ago and she wasn't moved by Emily's now. The guilt she felt for failing the other agent was crushing.

"No, I mean you've had my back since I came back," Emily said quietly. She smiled at the startled blonde. "And I've never really thanked you for that. So don't feel as if you didn't have my back, because you, Ashley Seaver, have had it from day one. Thank you."

* * *

><p>Ashley only stayed for a few days and then she saw her time at Emily's drastically reduced. Hotch's promise to give Emily some "space" only lasted about three days and he was suddenly a daily visitor at her place with each visit becoming much longer than the last one. Emily, however, didn't seem to mind. Perhaps she didn't need as much space and time as she originally thought, at least where Hotch was concerned.<p>

Since Hotch was over so much and Emily was doing so well, the need for Ashley to be there became less necessary. However, she was still doing some errands for Prentiss as the brunette wasn't cleared yet to drive, though she could take short walks. Seaver was entering Emily's apartment with some groceries when she nearly tripped over a pair of shoes Prentiss had left near the front door.

"What the-?" Seaver mumbled. One thing she had noticed was that Emily Prentiss was a bit of a neat freak who liked everything in its place. For her to leave a pair of shoes in the middle of the floor was unheard of as was the plastic CVS bag that Seaver could easily see a few feet from the shoes.

"Emily?" Ashley called out cautiously as she set the groceries down and her hand went to her weapon. She moved forward into the apartment and noticed a trail of Emily's possessions leading to her bedroom. There were her keys, her purse, her sunglasses, all discarded on the floor as if she dropped them in such a hurry, she couldn't be bothered to take five seconds to place them on a table.

Cautiously, Ashley entered Emily's bedroom. She didn't see the woman but she heard a muffled sob come from the bathroom. She felt a modicum of relief. Maybe Emily just really needed to go. She walked over to the bathroom door and noticed it was ajar. She knocked gently. "Emily?"

She heard another sob and concerned, Seaver pushed the door opened and looked into the room. What she saw left her speechless for a full minute. Seated on the bathroom floor was Emily Prentiss who had the most terrified expression on her face. But that was not what rendered the young agent mute. Around Emily Prentiss were four separate home pregnancy tests and from what Seaver could see, each of them showed a positive sign.

"Oh. My…," Ashley said lamely. She looked at Emily whose head came up to meet her eyes.

"I'm pregnant," Emily said in a panicked voice. "I'm pregnant with Hotch's baby!"

"How, I mean, what made you think to check?" Ashley said as she sat down on the bathroom floor next to the distraught woman.

"My last check-up when they were seeing how well the wound was healing, they took some blood to do some standard tests. They called this morning."

"And you didn't believe the doctors with their blood tests so you had to buy four drugstore pregnancy tests to be certain?" Seaver asked in amusement.

"Mistakes can be made, especially by labs," Emily snapped. She looked at the various pregnancy tests. "Oh God, what am I going to do?"

"Well, should I be saying congratulations? I mean, do you want to have the baby?" Seaver looked at the woman curiously.

The beatific smile on Emily's face was answer enough but she said the words anyway. "More than anything. I thought it would never happen for me and now that it has, it feels like a miracle. And for the father to be Hotch…" Her eyes widened. "Oh God, Hotch! He didn't sign up for this! I don't know if he wants any more kids! We're not even an official couple! He's going to think I trapped him!"

Ashley could see the brunette was having a full blown panic attack and reached out to put her hands on Emily's shoulders before she hurt herself. "Emily! Hotch is going to be thrilled! He loves Jack. The man loves kids and he loves you. Besides, he's not the one who needed more time. He seemed pretty certain what he wanted in his future and that was you. I'm positive he's thought of the possibility of more children so I don't think this is going to freak him out."

"But what is the Bureau going to think? Oh my God, what will people say? I got knocked up by my boss!"

"Have you decided if you're going to be staying?"

"No, I'm still trying to sort that out. God, my life is a mess and now I'm bringing a child into it."

"Well, the kid won't be here for another few months so you've got time to sort out your life. Besides, you've got part of it already figured out. Hotch."

The beautiful smile appeared on Emily's face again. "Yeah," she whispered. "I think I had already made up my mind about him days ago." Her hand moved over her flat stomach. "This little guy in here just seems to reinforce what is meant to be."

"Emily?" They heard Hotch call out from the living room.

Knowing he must have let himself in, the two women looked at each other. Ashley patted Emily's knee. "Here's your chance to tell him all of that." She stood and called out to Hotch where they were. She went out to the bedroom to meet him before he saw the brunette and the pregnancy tests.

Hotch entered the bedroom cautiously, and like she had earlier, he came in with a wary look on his face, his hand near his weapon. He had obviously been disturbed by the trail Emily left in the apartment just as she had. He looked questioningly at the blonde.

"She's in the bathroom and she wants to talk to you," Seaver informed him. He was about to ask, but she anticipated his question. "She's fine, but she needs to tell you something." She gave him a mysterious grin and left the room and the apartment completely, knowing her presence was not needed.

Curious, and a little worried, Hotch stepped into Emily's bathroom. He frowned in concerned when he saw her sitting on the floor. "Em? Sweetheart, what's wrong?" He noticed then the number of used pregnancy kits surrounding her and his eyes widened. "Are those-? Are you-? Are we-?"

"Pregnant," she said softly. She watched his reaction closely.

At first, he was stunned and his surprise was plain to see. Then his face cracked into a smile; a genuine, full faced, double dimpled smile and he knelt down next to her to draw her into a bear hug.

"A baby!" he cried out joyously. "We're having a baby!"

Emily let out a laugh filled with happy tears as she hugged him back. "We're having a baby."

He suddenly pulled back from her and looked anxiously in her face. "You do want this, right Em? I mean, I know we've never talked about children and I know you still wanted some time to think about us. I don't want to force you into-"

She cut him off with a kiss, letting him know he should stop talking and that her answer was a definite yes. Yes, she wanted a baby with this incredible man like she wanted a life with him. He eagerly returned the kiss, shifting their positions so he wound up sitting on the floor with her pulled into his lap. Gently they separated and leaned their foreheads against each other. One of his hands buried itself in the soft silk of her hair while the other came down to caress her stomach.

"Our baby," he whispered with the smile still on his face.

"Our baby," she repeated. She let out a snort of laughter. "Well, I guess I should have realized that this could have happened even though we only did it three times. I should have known you would have over-achieving sperm." Emily sighed. "Being on the pill, I would have thought that would be enough, even without a condom. But that afternoon, it didn't even occur to me to ask if you had one."

He made a noncommittal noise in his throat and Emily looked at him suspiciously. "You didn't plan this, did you? To sort of make it more likely I would want to do this. Us, I mean."

"Em, I think it's usually the woman who tries to get pregnant to trap the man, not the reverse," he said in a wry tone.

She laughed at her own foolishness. "You're right." She snuggled against him. "So where do we go from here?"

"Wherever we want, sweetheart," Hotch said as he pressed his lips to her fragrant hair. "We have our lives before us and I see it as being a beautiful one with you, me, Jack and baby Prentiss-Hotchner and maybe a couple of more Prentiss-Hotchner kids."

"Let's start with one Prentiss-Hotchner baby first and then go from there," she said in amusement. They settled into a comfortable silence, but Emily felt she had to say something about the other issues she had been grappling with since their return from the Hamptons.

"About the BAU and the team," she began.

"You don't have to make any decisions now," Hotch told her quickly. "Take all the time that you need."

"This baby changes things in some ways, but…," She pulled back to look at him. "He or she and you and Jack are my number one priority. Not the BAU."

"Do you want to quit?" he asked quietly.

Emily bit her lip. "At the very least, I want to take a leave of absence. I don't want to risk this baby in any way. Hotch, I've been stabbed twice in two years. I'm not going to risk something happening to our child." She snuggled back into him. "I don't know, maybe I am done with the BAU and want to move on to something else."

"Mmm," he growled softly, letting her feel the rumbling in his chest as he pulled her tighter to him. "That something else include me?"

"Oh you're a major part of that something else," she replied softly as she kissed his neck. She sighed. "I'm also not sure if I'm ready to deal with JJ and Morgan yet. So much has happened and…Hotch, I was just so hurt by them and I know they feel I've hurt them too."

He nodded. "It'll take time. It's not something any of you can rush. And truth be told, sweetheart, whatever is less stressful on you is what I'm happy with."

Emily smiled and hugged him tighter. She always knew Hotch was one of a kind; a wonderful man. She just hadn't realized how wonderful he truly was. "I love you," she said softly.

She hadn't said it since she told him weeks ago as she lay bleeding in Bernard Mason's mansion. Hotch hadn't even said those words yet either while she was conscious, not wanting to put added pressure on her when she said she needed space. Now, sitting here on her bathroom floor surrounded by used pregnancy tests, it wasn't the place or situation either of them had ever imagined they would be exchanging "I love you's". Yet, in some strange way, it seemed to be "them".

Hotch smiled at her and said in a low voice, "Wow, that's a good thing because I love you, Emily Prentiss."

He kissed her smiling mouth and when they pulled away from that sweet and simple kiss, he heard her sigh.

"So where do we go from here?" she asked as she played with the lapel of his suit coat.

"Well, first we get off of this cold bathroom floor because I think my butt is falling asleep and then we go and face out beautiful future. Together. Because that's how it's going to be from now on, Em. The two of us together."

She looked up at him and saw in his dark eyes all the beautiful possibilities that she had always thought would be forever out of her reach. Little did she know when she walked into the BAU all those years ago with her small box of belongings and her hand held out that the man she met then would be all she needed to find that happiness that had always eluded her.

Hotch shifted her gently off his lap and then stood. He offered her his hand and Emily looked at it, knowing that by taking it she was not only being helped back onto her feet both literally and figuratively, but she was also embarking on the next phase in her life, a phase that promised to be filled with love, laughter and light.

She placed her small hand in his large one and he gently tugged her up. With his arm around her waist, they left her bathroom and stepped towards their beautiful future.

The End.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: I hope folks have enjoyed this story. Now that it's completed, I will be resuming "Reckoning" and my CM/NCIS crossover, "A Rose By Any Other Name" so if you're interested in those stories, updates are coming soon! Thanks!**


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